scwd.us

As part of the statewide studies required by Texas Senate Bill I, a Water Supply Plan was prepared for Somervell County and submitted to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). The study notes that the city of Glen rose and Somervell County are projected to experience continual water shortages with their groundwater source, the Trinity Aquifer. According to the study, Glen Rose has a projected shortage of 300 acre-feet in 2030, representing 44% of total demand. The County’s projected shortage of 640 acre-feet in 2030 represents a 57% shortage. (An acre-foot is the amount of water one foot deep that covers one acre of land. It is 325,851 gallons.)

Declining water table elevations in municipal wells and increasing demands also indicate that the existing groundwater supplies will not be able to meet the future needs of Somervell County. The chart below shows the continued increase in depth to water in the Somervell County Water District (SCWD) area.

In an attempt to both meet these increasing water needs and to avoid costly opposition and political turmoil experienced with the previously proposed Paluxy Reservoir, Freese and Nichols, SCWD’s consulting engineer, suggested the development of an off-channel reservoir. SCWD approved of this plan and authorized the engineering firm to prepare a water right application for the Texas Natural Resource Conversation Commission (TNRCC) for such a plan. The permit was received December 2002. With this scenario, a small channel dam was constructed on the Paluxy River and water will be pumped from the pool created by the dam into a small off-channel reservoir located on Wheeler Branch.

A smaller reservoir was considered because it was more easily justified to the TNRCC based upon Somervell County’s population. Based upon the present consensus, it appears that a surface water reservoir with a 2,000 acre-foot supply should suffice at the present rate of population growth for decades. To provide adequate water supply to the city of Glen Rose, surrounding communities and rural users within the District’s boundaries, SCWD sought the water right permit to impound water diverted from the Paluxy River and runoff collected from Wheeler Branch in Wheeler Branch Reservoir. The reservoir is located about two miles northwest of Glen Rose and was created by an earthen embankment dam 1,750 feet long and 90 feet high.

This website is designed to provide information to the public about the activities and history of the SCWD. It is maintained and updated by SCWD.

Depth to City Well #2 Chart