Gary Ashmore, general manager of the Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, recently presented a program for the Livingston Lions Club.
Originally from the Beaumont area, Ashmore served seven and a half years in the U.S. Air Force, has an engineering degree as well as an MBA and an MPA, and has lived overseas in 15 different countries. He is presently in his 12th year as general manager of the Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and presently serves on five legislative committees for the state.
The Lower Trinity Groundwater Conservation District is the local groundwater conservation district serving Polk and San Jacinto counties. The district was created by the 79th Texas Legislature in 2005 and confirmed by a majority vote of the citizens of both counties on November 7, 2006.
The district is responsible for managing and protecting local groundwater resources through long-term planning, monitoring, conservation, recharge, public education, and the prevention of groundwater waste in accordance with Article XVI, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution and Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code, while balancing private property rights, water supply needs, and the long-term sustainability of the aquifers serving Polk and San Jacinto counties.
“Polk and San Jacinto were smart enough to decide they wanted a groundwater district,” Ashmore said, adding that the legislation passed in 2005 requires very specific joint planning by the groundwater conservation districts within each Groundwater Management Area.
“I work with 19 counties around us. We’re in what’s called Groundwater Management Area No. 14,” he said, adding that he coordinates with Regional Water Planning Groups to support long-term water supply planning and groundwater resource management across Southeast and East Texas.
The district works with local governments, water systems, landowners, state agencies, and the public to help ensure groundwater resources remain available for current and future generations.
“Texas is the last state in the U.S. whose water is rule of capture,” he said, meaning that landowners are granted the legal right to pump and capture as much groundwater or oil and gas as they can from beneath their property, even if it depletes the reserves beneath a neighbor’s adjacent land. “In Texas we’re beginning to separate water rights from mineral rights.
“We’re water-rich in Polk County. The aquifer is very close to the surface with nice, clean water. Every year I go around to 30 wells to measure the water level. It is up 3-4% since last year,” he said, adding, “We’re fortunate because we have water.”
