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Where does your water come from?
  
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By TANA ROSS
Even before citizens recently voiced their concerns in Austin about potential toxins that could be dumped into an injection well, officials were working to call attention to the future and safety of groundwater in Montgomery County.
According to the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, only about half of the people in Montgomery County know where their water comes from. In fact, 49 percent believe the water they use every day comes from lakes and reservoirs.
Their water comes from the Gulf Coast Aquifer, an underground water supply that cannot keep up with the demands of the rapidly growing population of the county.
The need to conserve the aquifer and make it last prompted the Lone Star GCD to implement, “Water IQ: Know Your Water.” The Lone Star GCD is the first in East Texas to adopt this program, the state’s official water conservation campaign.
“It is part of a bigger plan to make sure Montgomery County has enough water for the future,” Lone Star GCD General Manager Kathy Turner said. “Demand is expected to more than double by 2040, so we are working on accessing additional water supplies to make sure we don’t over tap the aquifer.”
While the general notion of underground water is understood by some, others fall into the 49 percent that believe their water comes from lakes. Ethan Jeans and Karen Pinnell of Magnolia are examples.
“I think it comes from some big well, some where,” Jeans said.
“I don’t really know,” Pinnell said. “It probably comes from the lakes.”
Another aspect of the Lone Star GCD campaign is to educate the public about conservation.
Jeans said he already conserves because his parents taught him to live with water conservation. Pinnell said she is becoming better at conserving water because her daughter teaches her.
“I can usually turn the water off while I am doing something else like brushing my teeth,” she said. “I have to because my daughter insists.”
And, the district’s Water IQ campaign agrees. The Lone Star GCD also offers the following tips for saving water throughout Montgomery County:
Cut five minutes from your shower, and save 12 gallons of water a day.
Avoid sprinkler runoff, and save thousands of gallons a year.
Water early in the day or late in the evening, and save 25 gallons a day.
Water an inch a week, that is all a lawn really needs to stay green.
The Lone Star GCD is one of 94 groundwater conservation districts statewide created by the state legislature to conserve, protect and enhance groundwater resources. For more information about the Lone Star GCD visit www.lonestargcd.org.
According to the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, only about half of the people in Montgomery County know where their water comes from. In fact, 49 percent believe the water they use every day comes from lakes and reservoirs.
Their water comes from the Gulf Coast Aquifer, an underground water supply that cannot keep up with the demands of the rapidly growing population of the county.
The need to conserve the aquifer and make it last prompted the Lone Star GCD to implement, “Water IQ: Know Your Water.” The Lone Star GCD is the first in East Texas to adopt this program, the state’s official water conservation campaign.
“It is part of a bigger plan to make sure Montgomery County has enough water for the future,” Lone Star GCD General Manager Kathy Turner said. “Demand is expected to more than double by 2040, so we are working on accessing additional water supplies to make sure we don’t over tap the aquifer.”
While the general notion of underground water is understood by some, others fall into the 49 percent that believe their water comes from lakes. Ethan Jeans and Karen Pinnell of Magnolia are examples.
“I think it comes from some big well, some where,” Jeans said.
“I don’t really know,” Pinnell said. “It probably comes from the lakes.”
Another aspect of the Lone Star GCD campaign is to educate the public about conservation.
Jeans said he already conserves because his parents taught him to live with water conservation. Pinnell said she is becoming better at conserving water because her daughter teaches her.
“I can usually turn the water off while I am doing something else like brushing my teeth,” she said. “I have to because my daughter insists.”
And, the district’s Water IQ campaign agrees. The Lone Star GCD also offers the following tips for saving water throughout Montgomery County:
Cut five minutes from your shower, and save 12 gallons of water a day.
Avoid sprinkler runoff, and save thousands of gallons a year.
Water early in the day or late in the evening, and save 25 gallons a day.
Water an inch a week, that is all a lawn really needs to stay green.
The Lone Star GCD is one of 94 groundwater conservation districts statewide created by the state legislature to conserve, protect and enhance groundwater resources. For more information about the Lone Star GCD visit www.lonestargcd.org.
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