Key Gulf Coast Fish Nursery Endangered by LCRA-SAWS

Water Transfer Project

AUSTIN—Matagorda Bay, one of the most important natural hatcheries of aquatic life on the Texas Gulf Coast, is threatened by a proposed contract between the Lower Colorado River Authority and the City of San Antonio to pump freshwater from the Colorado River and send it to San Antonio. It appears that under the terms of the contract, LCRA would send Colorado River water to San Antonio even if the reservoirs created for the project are depleted, and even during droughts.

The $1 billion project will be the subject of a public hearing sponsored by the LCRA tonight at 7:00pm.

The agreement calls for LCRA to send up to 150,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water a year to San Antonio, the same amount used by the entire City of Austin in one year.

"Some would have you believe that LCRA only intends to send excess flood water to San Antonio," said Ken Kramer, Director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. "But the reality is that LCRA plans on sending a flood of Colorado River water to San Antonio every year, and even during droughts."

An analysis of the project shows that during a repeat of the drought Texas endured in the 1950s, this project would reduce river flows into Matagorda Bay to half the level needed for estuarine species to survive.

97% of the fish species of the Gulf are dependent upon estuaries during some portion of their life cycle. This project, as proposed, could adversely affect many species that use the Matagorda Bay estuary as a nursery or feeding area, including shrimp, blue crab, redfish, oysters, and many varieties of shorebirds.

The health and productivity of Matagorda Bay is dependent on freshwater flows from the Colorado River, and the bay is an economic mainstay of the Coastal Bend and the Gulf fisheries. A 1998 Texas A&M study estimated the total economic impact of commercial and recreational fishing in Matagorda Bay at $63 million and $115 million, respectively.

The LCRA and SAWS have proposed a series of off-channel reservoirs, pumps and a 170-mile pipeline to transfer Colorado River water to San Antonio. Contrary to prevailing belief, the project would not simply capture flood flows in the off-channel reservoirs. Pumps would be used to withdraw non-flood water from the main channel of the river, and even during droughts. This pumping could easily reduce the river's flow on a regular basis to a level only seen during the very worst days of the 1948-57 drought.

In addition to the meeting Tuesday night, public meetings will be held in Burnet County on January 24 and in Wharton County on January 29. The LCRA Board of Directors and the SAWS Board of Trustees are scheduled to vote on the agreement in February 2002. Written and e-mail comments will be taken by the LCRA through Jan. 31, 2002.

Agency Media Contacts LCRA: Bill McCann, 1-800-776-5272, Ext. 4086 SAWS: John Boggess, 210-704-7481

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PR 02-004 [NR]