When will College Station get a water reservoir?

By Jennifer Nations, Water Resource Coordinator

From time to time, someone will ask, “when will College Station get a water reservoir?” Throughout my 23 years with the city’s Water Services Department, the answer has always been “it won’t.”

But if such a topic were to surface, it would likely happen at a meeting of the Brazos Region G Regional Water Planning Group, one of 16 regional groups in the state.

College Station will be among the water users discussed at the regional planning group’s public meeting on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Carters Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. They want to gather input from stakeholders in Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Lee, Milam, Robertson, and Washington counties on matters related to available water supplies, projected needs, and management strategies.

The feedback will help shape the 2021 Regional Water Plan the regional groups submit to the Texas Water Development Board.

Under the regional water planning process, stakeholder interest groups such as cities, water utilities, agriculture, river authorities, industry, environmental, groundwater conservation districts, and more gather regularly to discuss water needs and strategies. Discussions include population projections, user needs, and strategies such as reservoirs, groundwater wells, and conservation.

In other words, individuals with knowledge of water needs and population collaborate to make sure our water future remains sustainable.

The regional water plans are developed on a rolling five-year cycle, then consolidated into a state water plan. The latest five-year plan – to be finalized in 2021 — is in the draft stage and is almost ready for its public debut. The final version will be reviewed by the Texas Water Development Board and incorporated into the next state plan.

The regional meetings tend to be “must-see” events for water nerds like me, but the public and other water professionals are also encouraged to attend. Even if you don’t consider yourself a water nerd, you may come away impressed at the diligent planning that goes into ensuring that Texas and the Brazos Valley continue to have a reliable supply of one of our most vital resources.

For more information, go to brazosgwater.org.

About the Blogger

Jennifer Nations has been the City of College Station’s water resource coordinator since 1999 after two years as BVSWMA’s environmental compliance officer. She’s also chair of the Water Conservation and Reuse Division for the Texas Section of the American Water Works Association. A native of Fremont, Calif., Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental & resource science from UC-Davis in 1995 and a master’s degree in water management & hydrologic science from Texas A&M in 2016.

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