Last Thursday, January 10, 2008, San Antonio City Council unanimously approved the purchase of development rights on 2,251 acres in Uvalde County as part of the Edwards Aquifer Land Acquisition program.  Known as “Gulley Ranch”, the $1.5 million needed to enter into the agreement was funded by Proposition One money, revenue from an additional sales tax approved by voters back in May 2005.

     The conservation easement will limit further development of the land as well as certain land uses in an effort to prevent contamination of the Edwards Aquifer.  Under the agreement, building will be allowed in certain designated zones, and impervious cover allowed up to 1% of the total land area.  The property currently has about 4 acres of impervious cover, or 0.2%.  Although the property is not home to any endangered species, it lies entirely within the Edwards Recharge Zone and contains many sensitive recharge features.

According to Terry Dudley, of the Edwards Aquifer Authority:

“Approximately 70% of Edwards [Aquifer] recharge originates in Medina and Uvalde Counties.”

Since water in the aquifer generally flows west to east, most of the water we drink is likely to have traveled from those more western counties.  Nevertheless, protection of sensitive recharge land in Bexar County is also important, and approximately 10,000 acres have been dedicated to conservation easements, including Government Canyon.  The price of land in Bexar County has escalated in the last few years, making it difficult to further add to this total.

Please contact City Council at www.sanantonio.gov/council to thank them for voting to protect sensitive land within the Edwards Aquifer watershed.

The Edwards Aquifer by county

Photo at: www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeman/edwards_map