Edwards Aquifer Board to Weigh Irrigation-Suspension Deal and $1.61 Million Insurance Purchase

The agenda also sets a 4 p.m. Aug. 10 registration deadline for residents who want to address the board remotely.

By Comal.News Water, Utilities & Weather Desk · Source-linked local reporting

Published August 6, 2026 at 10:30 PM CDT2 min read

Agenda posted

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A balance scale above a cracked aquifer landscape holds irrigation equipment on one side and a medical bag with documents on the other. — Illustration: Water management and health insurance weighed against the Edwards Aquifer landscape.Original editorial illustration; not a photograph and does not depict the reported event or an exact property.Comal.News Visual Desk · Original illustration · Source ↗ · Comal.News original illustration ↗

The Edwards Aquifer Authority board is scheduled to consider an irrigation-suspension agreement worth between $20,750.69 and $82,234.21 when it meets Tuesday, Aug. 11.

The proposed forbearance agreement involves Edwards groundwater withdrawal rights held by Larry V. Emerson and Michael E. McHugh. The agenda describes the agreement as part of the Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program Option in support of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan.

A separate $1.61 million insurance decision

Board members also are scheduled to consider an approximately $1,609,729 purchase of employee medical insurance from Cigna Healthcare through Risk Services-Leavitt Insurance Agencies. The proposed coverage period runs from Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027.

The agenda attributes the insurance recommendation to authority staff. It attributes the irrigation-suspension proposal to the board’s Permits/Enforcement Committee.

Other posted business includes possible amendments to the authority’s bylaws, the potential designation and disposal of surplus personal property, and a staff report on settlements and settlement guidelines involving groundwater-use regulations. The agenda does not provide the text of the proposed bylaw changes or identify the property that could be declared surplus.

How to attend or comment

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Aug. 11 in the Edwards Aquifer Authority Board Room at 900 E. Quincy St. in San Antonio. The agenda also provides a virtual-attendance link.

Anyone seeking to make public comment remotely must register by 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, according to the notice. Registration requires providing a name, telephone number and the item, if any, the speaker wants to address by email or by calling the authority. Staff will contact registered speakers before the meeting to arrange their participation.

The board is also due to receive reports on aquifer conditions and recent activities of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Program. Those entries are listed as reports, not action items, and the agenda contains no new aquifer-level measurement.

From the source record

Document receiptEdwards Aquifer Authority Board of Directors agenda

Consider recommendation ... to approve a forbearance agreement ... for Edwards groundwater withdrawal rights for the Voluntary Irrigation Suspension Program Option ... in the total amount of not less than $20,750.69 and not to exceed $82,234.21.

Edwards Aquifer Authority ↗

The authority’s Aug. 11 agenda lists the irrigation-suspension agreement among the items awaiting board consideration.