An Aquifer Is Just Like A Savings Account
The small Texas community of Milano is bent on protecting its groundwater.
Alcoa Aluminum is asking for a groundwater pumping permit from the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District. Several Milam Co. residents believe the deal could jeopardize the county’s future water supply. They point out that some permit holders are not pumping to capacity now, and if more permits are granted the aquifer will be at risk.
One opponent of the Alcoa proposal, Curtis Chubb of the Central Texas Aquifers Coalition, said, “It’s just like a savings account if you withdraw too much money without putting money back in, you deplete the savings account. Same thing with the aquifers.”
Alcoa is currently asking to use the water for their industrial needs. However, people believe the company will sell the land to Lower Colorado River Association and the water will be pumped out of the county down to the Austin area.
There were approximately 120 people at the last meeting to discuss the Alcoa request, with about 80% of the crowd opposing the permit.
Small communities, often short on cash, sometimes enter into water deals that look good at the outset but leave them high and very dry. The citizens of Milano seem to be paying attention.
The next meeting is scheduled for October.
