The Edwards Aquifer Authority board is scheduled to consider a new Mathis irrigation-suspension agreement Oct. 6. The proposal offers payment for setting aside permitted pumping rights during severe drought, when Comal Springs flows matter to residents and river users.
The Mathis proposal
The Oct. 6 board agenda lists the proposed Mathis VISPO agreement as item G.2, AI 13-3832. The item names Evan B. Mathis, Betty K. Mathis and Jamie Ann Mathis as parties to a proposed forbearance agreement involving permitted Edwards groundwater rights. Staff proposes a total payment of at least $17,334 and no more than $68,694 under the Mathis agreement. If directors approve the recommended motion, it would authorize the general manager to execute the agreement; the posted item is a proposal, not a board decision.
The Mathis item previously appeared on the Sept. 22 Permits/Enforcement Committee listing. Its placement on the Oct. 6 board agenda makes the board meeting the next stated decision point. This is the Mathis proposal identified in AI 13-3832; the listed parties and payment range are the useful identifiers for following its eventual disposition.
VISPO is intended to reduce irrigation pumping during severe drought and help maintain minimum flows at Comal and San Marcos springs. That purpose explains why the proposal matters beyond the agreement's parties: spring flow is part of the water system residents and river users experience. The item establishes the program's aim, while the payment range describes this proposed agreement; neither figure states how much this individual agreement would change spring flow.