Well moratorium extended:  

 The Board of Directors of the Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District at their regular board meeting on January 5, 2023, following a public hearing, voted to extend the moratorium for an additional 90 days on issuing new permits on wells used for irrigation, municipal and commercial purposes within Gillespie County.  Exceptions to this are new permitted wells that would be used to alleviate conditions threatening health, safety, or welfare of the public.  This moratorium does not include replacement permitted wells or wells used for domestic or livestock purposes.  The moratorium will continue until the current drought is broken and aquifer conditions improve. 

The District wants to remind everyone that filling a stock tank or other surface water impoundments to a volume in excess of 50,000 gallons in prohibited. 

Drought Condition Alert 

- The Local Drought Index as of March 4, 2023 is -3.26, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of  March 7, 2023, has Gillespie County in Extreme Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.

- The Local Drought Index as of March 4, 2023 is -3.26, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of February 21, 2023, has Gillespie County in multiple categories from Severe Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.

- The Local Drought Index as of February 4, 2023 is -3.28, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of February 21, 2023, has Gillespie County in multiple categories from Severe Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.

- The Local Drought Index as of February 4, 2023 is -3.28, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of February 7, 2023, has Gillespie County in multiple categories from Severe Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed. 

- The Local Drought Index as of December 31, 2022 is a -3.59, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of January 17, 2023, has Gillespie County in multiple categories from Severe Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed. 

- The Local Drought Index as of December 10, 2022 is a -3.69, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of December 13, 2022, has Gillespie County in multiple categories from Moderate Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.

- The Local Drought Index as of October 29, 2022 is a -4.40, which is a critical drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of December 6, 2022, has Gillespie County in multiple categories from Moderate Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed. 

For more information, visit:  https://hcuwcd.org/