Water is the most crucial issue for the future of the Wimberley Valley area, and no factor will have more impact on our water than population growth.

Water and growth will be key topics at the Blanco River/Onion Creek Water Forum, 9 a.m. Thursday, July 13, at the Wimberley Community Center. The Forum is free and the public is encouraged to come and ask questions. The morning session will include exhibits and a Meet & Greet with attendees, followed by speakers. The afternoon session will be a question-answer session with a panel of water authorities and area representatives to take your questions.

The event was organized by David Glenn, a long-time Wimberley water conservation advocate, and is co-hosted by his Hays Trinity Aquifer Volunteer Advisory Group, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, the Hill Country Alliance, and the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association.

Glenn believes it is essential for residents of what he calls the Blanco River/Onion Creek (BROC) Neighborhood to work together to successfully resolve the present and growing water issues created by local growth.

"The purpose is to get neighbors - the people who live in this neighborhood - dialoging about water issues," Glenn said. "Unprecedented population growth is causing water issues to develop into disputes between neighbors about: Where will our (future) water come from? How will we use our water more efficiently and effectively? And what will we do with our water once we are through using it?" CARD suggests anyone who lives in our neighborhood should consider this staggering fact: Of the more than 3,000 counties in the United States, Hays County has the third fastest growth percentage between July 1, 2015 and July 1, 2016 (U.S Census Bureau).

If you take out counties of less than 50,000 people, Hays County was Number One, a status it has had, by the way, for several years. That's why we are seeing constant major development going on all around us and now pushing aggressively into the Wimberley Valley.

Except for those on rainwater collection, most of us in the 1,000 square-mile BROC area, including Wimberley, Woodcreek, Blanco and Dripping Springs, get our water either directly or indirectly from the Trinity Aquifer, a challenged aquifer already declining much faster than it can be replenished.

The population pressure on this area will not diminish, and finding adequate water will become even more challenging.

The Blanco River/Onion Creek Water Forum is 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Wimberley Community Center, 14068 Ranch Rd 12, 78676. For information contact David Glenn, VAGabond Chief, Hays Trinity Aquifer Volunteer Advisory Group at david.glenn@vownet.net or (512) 557-3595.

The full schedule for the event:

• 9 AM: Exhibits and a Meet & Greet time. The forum's target audience is you and your neighbors (property owners, elected officials and staff, ranchers, business owners, water and sewer utilities, groundwater conservation districts, Texas Master Naturalists and conservancies) located in the BROC.
• 10 AM: Presentations by James Beach, hydrogeologist; Carlos Rubenstein, with local, regional, and state experience in resolving existing and future neighbor water disputes; and Weir Labatt, with experience in solving source, utilization, and reuse issues.
• 11:30 AM-12:30 PM: Lunch break. Guests can bring a lunch, go out to lunch or purchase a no-host luncheon, provided by Linda Allen Catering, for $10. (Order during Meet & Greet; cash or check only, no credit or debit cards.)
• 12:30 PM: The morning presenters will join a panel of representative BROC neighbors to answer water issue questions from the audience. The forum will conclude at 2:30 PM.

CARD believes the future water health of our area depends on an informed and actively involved populace. We suggest anyone concerned about water issues - and we all should be - attend, bring questions and ask for answers during the panel session. With development rapidly descending on our area, realistic and honest answers on how to protect our Valley from development water abuses are vital.

Thank you, CARD Steering Committee