Does SAWS reliance on the 1984 planning year differ from the 1956 drought of record planning standard that is currently used in our regional plans?
While the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group did use drought of record data for non-Edwards Aquifer water supplies, it did not use drought of record conditions for forecasting the availability of Edwards Aquifer water supplies. For planning purposes, an estimate of 340,000 acre-feet per year of available supply from the Edwards Aquifer was agreed upon by the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group and the staff of the Texas Water Development Board. This quantity was adopted as a placeholder number until the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) obtains approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP).
