Joint Groundwater Monitoring and Contamination Report: 1994 Page: 76
vi, 375 p. : ill., mapsView a full description of this report.
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Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts
(TAGD)
Program Description (General)
The Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts, formerly the Texas Groundwater Conservation Districts
Association, was formed on May 12, 1988. Its membership is restricted to Groundwater Conservation
Districts of Texas who have the powers and duties to manage ground water as defined in Chapter 52 of
the Texas Water Code. TAGD is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes
within the meaning of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As such it can accept tax
exempt donations and use these donations to educate the public to the growing need for water
conservation and ground-water protection. The purpose of TAGD is to educate the public and further
ground-water conservation and protection activities, and to provide a means of communication for the
exchange of information between individual districts as well as the general public. The Alliance
maintains contact with members of the private sector and various local, state, and federal officials and
their agencies in order to obtain timely information on activities and issues relevant to ground-water
districts. To date, there are 25 district members of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts. A map
and legend showing ground-water conservation districts and members of the Alliance is included in
Appendix 6. Contacts for the ground-water conservation districts are listed in Appendix 10.
The districts are created by the Legislature or by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
with the purpose and responsibility of preserving and protecting ground water. Ground-water districts
can be created by one of three procedures: (1) special water districts can be established through action
of the legislature; (2) districts can be created through a petitioning process filed with the TNRCC by
property owners based on Subchapter B of Chapter 52 of the Texas Water Code; and (3) districts can be
created in critical areas through procedures initiated by the TNRCC. In the last case, extensive local
participation is included through management advisory committees. As of January, 1995, 41 underground
water conservation districts had been created and one district had been dissolved. Districts are local or
regional in their jurisdiction and have, for the most part, elected boards of directors. Among their
legislatively granted authorities is the power to monitor ground-water quality. A number of districts also
have the authority to bring civil court proceedings for injunctive relief against an entity causing ground-
water contamination.
Status of Ground-Water Monitoring Programs (General)
District ground-water monitoring programs are primarily of a reconnaissance nature. Most programs aredesigned to track water quality trends and identify possible contaminants with minimal expenditure of
resources. Generally the sampling and analytical procedures and equipment employed are less
sophisticated and accurate than the sampling and laboratory procedures required to document or prove
contamination. However, some districts have monitoring programs with highly accurate and sophisticated
sampling and laboratory procedures similar to those of the Texas Water Development Board. These
districts are monitoring any changes in ambient or natural water quality conditions on a long-term basis.
Ground-water studies of specific areas, contaminants, or constituents are also conducted by some districts.
District ground-water quality monitoring can be used to identify problems which may then be referred
to appropriate state agencies for more detailed investigation and analysis.76
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Texas Groundwater Protection Committee. Joint Groundwater Monitoring and Contamination Report: 1994, report, April 1995; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1587502/m1/84/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.