Illustration of Texas Hill Country above the Trinity Aquifer
Western Hays County | Vote by November 3

Our Water. Our Wells. Our Call.

Three seats on the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District board are on the ballot. Re-elect the three incumbents who stand behind the district's mission: Bruce Moulton, Carlos Torres-Verdín and Linda Kaye Rogers.

Re-elect all three

The three incumbents

District 2
E. Dripping Springs along 290 and Belterra

Bruce Moulton

Decades of Texas water policy experience, including advising state environmental leaders, Army service, and leadership as the district's board president.

District 3
Along the Hays/Travis line

Carlos Torres-Verdín

A UT Austin professor and endowed chair, inventor, and leader of a university research consortium.

District 4
Woodcreek and rural southwest Hays

Linda Kaye Rogers

More than a decade of board leadership, groundwater policy experience, and firsthand conservation: she relies entirely on rainwater for household water.

Only one of these races will be on your ballot, depending on which single-member district you live in. Find your district on the official map.

What the district does

Local control of western Hays County's groundwater

“...the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District works to conserve, preserve, recharge and prevent the waste of groundwater within western Hays County.”District mission, 2026 Management Plan

The district covers about 370 square miles of western Hays County. It sets pumping limits based on the science of the aquifer, cuts back permitted pumping during declared droughts, and works to keep enough water in the Trinity Aquifer to maintain spring and stream flows.

The record

Permitted 102 million gallons. Pumped 191 million.

89Mgallons over its 2022 permit
$448,710fine set by the district
Dec. 2023Aqua Texas sued the district in federal court

Aqua Texas serves more than 3,000 customers in western Hays County, including Wimberley and Woodcreek. Its 2022 pumping came from the Trinity Aquifer, which feeds Jacob's Well and Blue Hole. The district fined it $5 per thousand gallons over the permit. Aqua Texas argues the fine treats it unfairly.

Source: KUT News, Jan. 9, 2024

In Andrew Backus's words

Why he's backing all three

“...the end goal is to keep these three people in office to allow the district to fulfill its mission and protect the private well owner...”
“...if you got to have regulations... you want to have local control...”
Both parties

Water isn't red or blue

Democrat

State Rep. Erin Zwiener

Posted support for Moulton, Torres-Verdín and Rogers. See the post

Republican

Hays County Commissioner Walt Smith

Supports Moulton, Torres-Verdín and Rogers. See the post

How to vote

Groundwater is on your ballot

Oct. 19-30early voting in person
Nov. 3Election Day
2, 3, 4the single-member districts on the ballot