The Cross Section, Volume 20, Number 4, April 1974 Page: 4
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Page 4 THE CROSSSECTION April, 1974
CANDIDATES. . continued from page 1
tion and Development Task Force,
which he created by executive order in
November, 1973, Briscoe said the fact
that the food and fiber production in
West Texas is so efficient and has
contributed so heavily in last year's
favorable balance-of-payments show-
ing has caused the area's problem to
be one of national, and even worldly,
scope. For this reason, he sees the
importation of a supplemental source
of water from outside the state to be
a reality in the near future.
Following the text of his prepared
speech to the Task Force, Briscoe
talked extemporaneously. Those re-
marks follow:
"I want to say again that I am very
proud of the work of this Task Force.
I appreciate your dedication to the job
ahead. I think that we need to ex-
amine the situation as it exists here in
Texas today. Then, we need to look
to the future to determine what the
water needs of this state will be in the
years ahead.
"Again, if the energy crisis has
taught us anything, it should be that,
unless we have proper planning, we
will find ourselves in Texas with a
water crisis in not too many years. I
think it is also essential in our long-
range planning, and I am not the least
bit discouraged on this one point. As
I mentioned in our first meeting, I
think it is absolutely essential that we
seek and that we secure a supple-
mental source of water outside the
State of Texas to meet the needs of
the water-deficit areas of this State.
"And, without that, we will not be
able, in my opinion, to meet the water
needs of Texas in the years ahead,
recognizing the importance of that
great agricultural area of West Texas,one of the most productive anywhere
to be found in the world, recognizing
the fact that it is only through that
kind of agricultural production that we
have been able to offset what in the
past years has been a deficit balance
of payments - that agricultural pro-
ductivity, producing the food, grain
and the fiber so strongly in demand
throughout the world today, last year
made it possible for the first time in
several years to have a favorable bal-
ance of payments for this country.
"I think that this has to be and I
would like to ask in your long-range
planning to give this top priority, be-
cause we do live in an entirely differ-
ent world today than we were just a
few years ago, when the National
Water Commission plans were madeand also when the Bureau of Recla-
mation and the Corps of Engineers
said that their findings and their
studies on the plan to import water
from outside the state into this state
were not feasible. They were looking
at an entirely different set of figures
at that time than now exist. And I
would like to ask you to pursue that
with the greatest possible input and
because this, to me, must have very
top priority if we are to meet the water
needs of Texas in the years ahead.
"And I am confident that with the
work of those of you in this room that
have dedicated so many years of your
life to this one, important project-~
that with your continued effort, that
we will be able to meet the water
needs of Texas in the years ahead, and
that we will not wake up some ten,
fifteen years, twenty years from now
and have those Texans of that time
say, well, those back in the seventies,
they missed their chance, they failed
to plan, they failed to plan far enough
ahead. And with the dedicated efforts
of those of you here, I am sure that
will not be the case. But, rather, the
case will be that we will plan for the
future; we will meet the water needs
of the Texas of the 80's and 90's and
up to 2000."
Addressing the subject of water
importation to West Texas, Mrs. Far-
enthold told groups in Lubbock, Odes-
sa, Post and other West Texas towns
that it is not feasible, for economic
and energy-related reasons, to bring
additional water to this area.
Better Management Needed
In stressing that she would not deny
the possibility of water importation in
the future, she cited "better water con-
servation and management" as a solu-
tion to the immediate problem. "We
must do what we can with what we
have," she stressed.Briscoe, on the other hand, criti-
cized the Federal Government for
withdrawing its support of water sup-
ply and water development projects.
Noting the emerging trends of the im-
portance of irrigated agriculture to the
economy and well-being of the State,
Briscoe said it is unfortunate that "the
report of the National Water Com-
mission was conceived before these
emerging trends became evident."
"Because of this conviction, I have
directed my staff to begin a vigorous
reexamination, in the light of present
conditions, of the analyses that were
the basis of the Commission's conclu-
sions and recommendations regarding
irrigated agriculture. We will be work-TASK ... continued from page 3
work in close cooperation with the
TWDB by indicating the degree of
urgency and desired time schedule for
accomplishing each water project, and
to specify procedures and allocate
responsibilities for taking the actions
necessary to achieve the desired re-
sults.
Upon receiving the Task Force'sPUBLIC ... continued from page 2
three applications held in abeyance for
30 days to provide time for the in-
vestors' interests to make new well
applications of a more "reasonable
nature".
Since that time, the City of Lubbock
and the Spurlock group, now reported-
ly doing business as Neb-Tex Farms,
have entered into a legal agreement,
whereby each party agreed to space
away from their property lines a mini-
mum of one-half of the distance re-
quired by the District as the minimum
spacing between wells of such capacity
as applied for. Spurlock has since
made new applications for five wells
of six-inch capacity on the subject
labor of land.
At a public meeting on April 27,
1974, the District's Directors approved
the revised well applications as applied
for by Spurlock and the three wells
applied for by the City of Lubbock,
and recognized the property line spac-
ing agreement entered into by the two
parties.
The City of Lubbock also reduced
the size of their applications from
eight-inch to six-inch wells. The re-
sultant spacing of the City's wells 200
yards from the boundary of the Neb-
Tex Farms' land and the setback
of the Neb-Tex Farms' wells 150
yards from their own property lines,
will result in spacing between the sub-
ject wells in excess of the minimum
spacing of 300 yards between six-inch
wells as required by the District's
rules. Testimony presented during the
public hearing of the 26th showed
that such increased spacing between
wells is better attuned to the hydrology
of the Ogallala aquifer in the area of
concern.ing with this Task Force, and with in-
terested and informed groups through-
out Texas and elsewhere in the nation,
to make certain that the place of food
and fiber production generated by
irrigated agriculture is properly docu-
mented and supported by comprehen-
sive study based on today's real-life
situation."report, Governor Briscoe commented,
"I have read and reviewed the draft
with my staff, and, since submission of
the final document this morning, I
have read the proposed program with
great interest. I can assure you that
it will receive careful study, and I will
respond to it as you proceed."
"I fully concur in the approach you
propose for developing a short-range
watet plan.. .," he continued. "This
short-range plan . . . must not wait
upon :he completion of every possible
study.'
New Demands Seen
Concerning the need for carefully
examining the present and potential
requirements for water for all pur-
poses, Briscoe cited the "new and dif-
ferent demands which the production
of coal and lignite in our state will
impose.
He also noted the need to accelerate
efforts to protect and improve water
quality conditions throughout Texas.
He then discussed the role of ground-
water resources in the State.
"As you know, I believe very
strongly that management of all re-
sources should be exercised at the
most local level of government where
that responsibility can be undertaken
effectively." He continued, "In the
case of groundwater, Texas has vast
resources. In the High Plains, ground-
water is being depleted at a rate ex-
ceeditg the rate of recharge. It can,
however, with conservation manage-
ment, serve as a valuable resource for
many years."
Local Authority Best
"It is my conviction that the
groundwater resources within each of
these areas (aquifers) should be man-
aged through local authority. In this
way ve have an opportunity to pro-
vide the most effective mechanism for
the proper conservation and develop-ment of ground and surface waters as
a vast resource system," the Governor
commented.
Concerning the recent trend of the
Federal government's withdrawal from
the financing of water projects, he
said, `'In the light of Federal trends, it
may he necessary that we undertake
new i iitiatives to share those costs
where there is a proper Federal inter-
est. On the other hand, where the
interests of Texas are involved, and
the Federal interest is either undefined
or peripheral, it may be, in the long
run, more feasible, and, with escalat-
ing costs, more prudent, for the State
to unertake its own water program
implementation."tOt'6L SVXGI ')moOeem
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Page 4
T HE CR O SS S E CT IO N
April, 1974
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High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 (Tex.). The Cross Section, Volume 20, Number 4, April 1974, periodical, April 1974; Lubbock, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1532989/m1/4/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.