What you need to know about SAWS' Vista Ridge pipeline deal.

Alamo Group Comments

• "Water Policy is Social Policy" by Meredith McGuire & Graciela Sanchez, November, 2015
• "Vista Ridge too costly, inflexible" by Terry Burns, SA Express News, Thursday, October 22, 2015, p. A10
• "Commentary: Who is Really Paying for SAWS Rate Structure?" by Meredith McGuire, The Rivard Report, August 25, 2015
• Comments on the draft Region L Water Plan by Margaret Day, August, 2015
• "Sierra Club: San Antonio Doesn't Need Vista Ridge Pipeline" by Alan Montemayor, The Rivard Report, July 1, 2015
• "SAWS’ proposed rate structure, unfair to residents" by Meredith McGuire, SA Express-News, June 20, 2015
• Letter to SAWS board re: Abengoa Green Bond Program obligations by Margaret Day, March, 2015
• "Abengoa’s Vista Ridge pipeline - green or greenwash?" by Margaret Day, February, 2015
• “ANOTHER VIEW: Average Joes will pay for what chambers want” by David Klar, SA Express-News, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014, p. A11
• Letter to Mayor, Members of City Council, and Citizens of San Antonio by Terry Burns, October 17, 2014 — Sets forth, in detail, 14 problems with Abengoa contract including rush to approval, expense, rate increases and global warming impact.
• “Vista Ridge plans need more scrutiny” by Margaret Day, October 2014 Alamo Sierran Word from the Alamo Group Chair— reviews potential downsides of Vista Ridge:  not a sustainable solution  due to carbon footprint and climate impact, claims on water availability and fairness, groundwater over-allocation, managed drawdown, leading to water wars, questions estimated cost to ratepayers and local economy, lack of challenges to chambers of commerce claims, cautionary tales in history, and asks to pause decision for broad-based study and public review.
• “Questions loom about SAWS pipeline deal”, by Meredith McGuire, Commentary, SA Express News, September 12, 2014
• Alamo Group Sierra Club Comments, Vista Ridge Media Conference, Sept. 25, 2014, by Margaret Day.
• Alamo Group Comments to San Antonio City Council B Session, Oct. 1, 2014, by Margaret Day, for the Alamo Sierra Club

Key Articles in The Texas Tribune

the best to raise issues with Vista Ridge

• "Vista Ridge Parent Company Enters Pre-Bankruptcy" by Kiah Collier, Nov. 25, 2015
• “New Questions Face San Antonio Water Pipeline” by Neena Satija, Oct. 14, 2015
• “Private Sector an Oasis for Thirsty San Antonio” by Neena Satija, Nov. 12, 2014
• “San Antonio Approves Historic Water Project” by Neena Satija, Oct. 30, 2014
• “Vote Set on San Antonio's Historic Water Gamble” by Neena Satija, Oct. 29, 2014
• “Water Planners Focus on Bigger Texas, Not a Hotter One”, by Neena Satija, July 14, 2014
• “San Antonio Mulls $3 Billion Water Supply Project”, by Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune, Aug. 13, 2014
• “A Tale of 2 Water Districts: 1 Aquifer, 2 Strategies” by Neena Satija, Sept. 3, 2014, Texas Tribune – Excellent review of recent history of various water marketer moves and responses by neighboring ground water management district.
• “Aquifer is No Quick Fix for Central Texas Thirst”, by Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune, Sept. 12, 2014
• “San Antonio a Step Closer to Controversial Pipeline”, by Neena Satija, The Texas Tribune,  Sept. 30, 2014

Key Articles from the Exporting Region

incl. expert stakeholder Curtis Chubb, PhD

• Rural folks have the right to protect their water by Curtis Chubb, Ph.D., Express-News, 4-24-15
• Is rural Texas San Antonio’s next endangered species? by Michele Gangnes, League of Independent Voters of Texas; Express-News, 10-26-14
• Letter to Mayor and City Council by Curtis Chubb, Ph.D., Landowner – Milam County, Texas, 10-16-14
  Notes that the company owning the groundwater leases needed for the project is not identified in the contract, new permits will be needed to provide sufficient water and there is no assurance those permits will be approved, Vista Ridge’s existing permits for pumping and exporting groundwater expire at least five years before the 30-year contract terminates and there is no guarantee that they will be extended, and 2 of the 3 groundwater district’s trigger points leading to cutbacks of pumping permits will be exceeded on the first day that Vista Ridge starts delivering water.
• “Trying to determine the future of groundwater”, By Curtis Chubb, The Cameron Herald 9-19-08
• “Update: The Biggest Turn-key Groundwater Deal in the History of Texas” by Curtis Chubb, The Cameron Herald
• “San Antonio Wants Too Much of Our Groundwater”, by Curtis Chubb, The Rivard Report, 31 August, 2014
  Curtis Chubb
• “The Groundwater District Says No”, byCurtis Chubb,The Cameron Herald, 18 September 2014
• “Don’t let them take our water”, by Curtis Chubb, Ph.D., Landowner – Milam County, Texas, 9-12-12
• UPDATE, by Curtis Chubb 
• “The Need for HB 3250”, by James Gaines for TLC

Key Stakeholder Group Comments

• The Vista Ridge Project: Vista Buena or Vista Mala?, a position paper endorsed by 16 community organizations, November 18,2015 
• Reasons Why the Vista Ridge Project Should be Canceled by Vista Ridge Network, August 19, 2015
• Bexar County Green Party letter to City Council by Rachell Tucker, August 7, 2015.
• “Don’t let fear dictate Vista Ridge water project decision”, by Amy Hardberger, San Antonio Express News, ANOTHER VIEW, Sat., Oct. 18, 2014, p. A-19.
• Vista Ridge Project Creates More Questions Than Answers, by Amy Hardberger, October 06, 2014; written with the assistance of Tyson Broad with the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club
• Team Larson Kicks Dirt in Our Faces
• A Critique of the Chamber of Commerce's Economic Analysis by Margaret Day, Alamo Group of the Sierra Club Executive Committee Chair, Oct. 5, 2014
• GEAA Comments to San Antonio City Council B Session, Oct. 1, 2014, by Annalisa Peace
• “Don’t allow rush to judgment on pipeline”, SA Express News Commentary, by Annalisa Peace, executive director of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, October 2, 2014
• Comments to San Antonio City Council B Session, Oct. 1, 2014, Linda Curtis, Indytexans.
• “Well Meaning People Can Still Poison Your Well”, Comments about a forum in Hays County put on by the Citizens Alliance for Responsible Development (CARD), by Linda Curtis, League of Independent Voters of Texas.
• Public Comment on the Abengoa Vista Ridge/SAWS/Blue Water Draft Contract, by attorney Michele Gangnes, for Neighbor to Neighbor and League of Independent Voters of Texas
• Public comment on the Abengoa Vista Ridge/SAWS/blue Water Draft Contract, by attorney Michelle McFadden 9-29-14
• Fact Sheet on Vista Ridge for San Antonio City Council, by League of Independent Voters of Texas
• Letter to Mayor Ivy Taylor requesting transparency for the Vista Ridge contract decision signed by 15 non-profit organizations, 9-30-14
• Recent Posts from the League of Independent Voters of Texas’ Stop the Water Grab Campaign
• “SAWS Deal a Trans-Texas Water Highway”, release from the League of Independent Voters of Texas
• Media Release: Central Texas Landowners Join Forces to Protect Water in Face of Out-of-Control Growth, by the League of Independent Voters of Texas, September 4, 2014
• Planning & Engineering as if Water and Environmental Values Matter & waterblogue - a conversation about sustainable water, websites by David Venhuizen, P.E., Venhuizen Water Works

Vista Ridge/SAWS 581-page contract

Other Newspaper/Media Articles

• “The Source: Vista Ridge Looks To Pass With Unanswered Questions” by Paul Flahive; TX Public Radio, 10/29/2014. Audio features Guest Greg Jefferson, business editor at The San Antonio Express-News.
• "What part of drought don’t San Antonians understand?," by O. Ricardo Pimentel, San Antonio Express-News: October 26, 2014
• "City Council should postpone pipeline vote" by Greg Jefferson, Business Editor | San Antonio Express-News, October 24, 2014
• "Who'll be the first to bring the water? Williamson County is thirsty, and water dealers are hungry"; by Kate Alexander, Austin American-Statesman, October 25, 2002.
• Water pipeline too much of a good deal, by Greg Jefferson, San Antonio Express-News, 10-17-2014.
• "Texas law offers landowners no protection from unscrupulous water marketers. " Underground water will be valuable commodity, some say, by Joseph S. Stroud, San Antonio Express-News, 8/20/2006 [accessed 10-2-14]
• “Water pipeline no pipe dream” Negotiations on the deal are heating up, By Scott Huddleston
  SAEN, Sunday, July 20, 2014, p. A1
•  “SAWS Board Sends Vista Ridge Water Deal to City Council”, by Iris Dimmick, The Rivard Report, 29 September, 2014
• “The High Cost of San Antonio’s North-South Water Divide”, by Robert Rivard, The Rivard Report, 2 April, 2014
• “Two Views on the $3.4 Billion Vista Ridge Water Deal”, Rivard Report Staff, The Rivard Report, 25 September, 2014.
• “Environmental, Community Groups Question SAWS Rush To Approve Vista Ridge Pipeline”, by Eileen Pace, Texas Public Radio, Sept. 25, 2014

Aquifer Technical Studies

• Effects of Vista Ridge Pumping on Groundwater and Surface Water in the Lost Pines and Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation Districts by George Rice, Sept. 22, 2015
• “Groundwater Recharge in Texas” by Bridget R. Scanlon, Alan Dutton, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin, and Marios Sophocleous, Kansas Geological Survey, Lawrence, KS
• Computer Model Analysis of Simsboro Overpumping, by Shirley Wade, TWDB, sent by Curtis Chubb
• “Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer”— includes explanations of SAWS Gonzalez County Leases and Vista Ridge Project, with a good bibliography:  http://www.edwardsaquifer.net/carrizo.html
• Scott Jones, Spring 2008, Hydrologic Setting , Hydrologic & Geologic Properties , Water Resources, Groundwater Quality & Contamination , Conclusion , References
  The Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Texas
• “A General Overview of Aquifers in Robertson, Brazos, Milam and Burleson Counties, Texas”, by Ridge Kaiser, R. W. Harden & Associates, for Brazos Valley Water Alliance. http://brazoswater.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=76
• “Groundwater Availability Model for the Central part of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Texas: Final Report prepared for the Texas Water Development Board” Dutton, A. R., Harden, R., Nicot, J. P., and O’Rourke, D., 2003, https://www.twdb.texas.gov/groundwater/models/gam/czwx_c/CZWX_C_Full_Report.pdf
• “Groundwater Recharge In Texas”, Scanlon, Dutton and Sophocleus, 2003
  http://www.beg.utexas.edu/environqlty/vadose/pdfs/webbio_pdfs/TWDBRechRept.pdf
• TX water code and interbasin transfers study: http://www.twdb.texas.gov/publications/reports/contracted_reports/doc/InterbasinTransfers_draft.pdf
• Study with info on Brazos River/Burleson County base flows and recharge:
  http://www.twdb.texas.gov/publications/reports/numbered_reports/doc/R375_BrazosOxbows.pdf
• http://www.twdb.texas.gov/publications/reports/other_reports/index.asp
• http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/groundwater/aquifer/majors/carrizo-wilcox.asp
• Simsboro modeling in Burleson County:
  http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/groundwater/docs/GAMruns/GR03-26.pdf
• 2003 Modeling for wells/pumping  and recharge in Burleson/Milam Counties:
  http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/groundwater/docs/GAMruns/GR03-19.pdf
• 2004 Modeling for transmisivity of Simsboro in Burleson County:
  http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/groundwater/docs/GAMruns/GR04-03.pdf
• 2005, GR05-05, Post Oak Savannah GCD, water budget, water levels, drawdown through 2050, 2002 State Water Plan pumping summary, and interaction with the Brazos River Alluvium Aquifer
  http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/groundwater/aquifer/majors/carrizo-wilcox.asp
• California joins other western states and now its laws recognize “that California’s surface and groundwater resources are in many respects part of a single complex, interconnected water system.”
  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-17/drought-plagued-california-stops-treating-groundwater-like-private-property
• “19%: The Great Water-Power Wake-Up Call”, by Dan Brekke, KQED, June 10, 2012 http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2012/06/10/19-percent-californias-great-water-power-wake-up-call/