LCRA Board adopts new rules for interruptible water customers

The Lower Colorado Authority Board of Directors on Wednesday adopted an updated Drought Contingency Plan for interruptible agricultural customers to further implement LCRA’s new Water Management Plan.

The state-approved Water Management Plan that went into effect this year includes upper limits on the amount of interruptible Highland Lakes water available for downstream irrigation under all circumstances. Under the plan, downstream agricultural customers in the Gulf Coast, Lakeside and Pierce Ranch irrigation operations will be allocated up to a maximum of 202,000 acre-feet of Highland Lakes water this year for their first crop. Those customers did not receive water from the lakes in 2012, 2013, 2014 or 2015 because of the drought.

“This is a new approach to managing water in the lower Colorado River basin,’’ said Phil Wilson, LCRA general manager. “As we resume providing water for these downstream customers, we have eliminated the concept of ‘open supply,’ even when the lakes are as full as they are now. The new plan better protects the firm supply in the Highland Lakes and gives more certainty to everyone involved in the process.”

Combined storage in lakes Travis and Buchanan, the water supply reservoirs in the Highland Lakes, currently stands at almost 1.8 million acre-feet, or 89 percent of capacity.

LCRA water customers purchase what’s called firm or interruptible water. Firm water is available even during a severe drought, and is primarily purchased by cities and businesses. Interruptible water, available at a lower cost, is reduced or cut off completely during severe droughts. Interruptible water is mostly used for agriculture in Colorado, Matagorda and Wharton counties.

The Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) for agricultural interruptible customers adopted Wednesday details how stored water from the Highland Lakes will be allocated among the Gulf Coast, Lakeside and Pierce Ranch irrigation operations, reflecting changes in the 2015 Water Management Plan, which went into effect this year.

The LCRA Board also adopted new contract rules and contract forms for agricultural customers, including adding a third tier of surcharges for high water use, based on acre-foot per acre use. The surcharges add as much as 150 percent to the cost of water.

The new surcharges build on LCRA’s decision to raise rates to fully recover all costs associated with providing water for downstream interruptible customers within seven years. As the first part of that process, the LCRA Board raised water rates for interruptible customers in December 2015 to fully cover operations and maintenance of the irrigation systems. The new rates are the same regardless of whether water is sent downstream from the Highland Lakes or is diverted under LCRA’s downstream water rights.

The 2016 rates for interruptible water range from $39 an acre-foot to $49.88 an acre-foot. An acre-foot is almost 326,000 gallons.

About LCRA
The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; ensuring a clean, reliable water supply; and offering access to nature at more than 40 parks, recreation areas and river access sites along the Texas Colorado River, from the Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to enhancing the lives of Texans through water stewardship, energy and community services. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934. The organization neither levies taxes nor receives tax money. For more information, visit
LCRA.org.

Media Contact
Clara Tuma
512–578–3292
clara.tuma@lcra.org



Source: LCRA Business News

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