Residents in numerous Magnolia and Pinehurst area subdivisions will notice an increase in their water bills come Sept. 1 as part of continuing efforts in south Montgomery County to reduce reliance on groundwater sources.

The city of Magnolia, Aqua Texas, Quadvest and the HMW Special Utility District are some of the largest water distributors in the Magnolia and Pinehurst areas and are participants in the San Jacinto River Authority groundwater reduction plan. Residents living in subdivisions served by the aforementioned providers, as well as several others in the area, pay a groundwater reduction plan pumpage fee to the SJRA in their water bills, said Mark Smith, SJRA groundwater reduction plan administrator.

The groundwater reduction plan pumpage fee will rise from $1.75 to $2.25 per 1,000 gallons starting Sept. 1. The fee is expected to steadily increase each year based on recent rate studies, potentially reaching $3 per 1,000 gallons by 2024, SJRA spokeswoman Ronda Trow said. The rate increases are designed to help fund the cost of the SJRA's estimated $500 million surface water project, she said.

SJRA plan

In 2006, the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District adopted a regulatory plan that stipulated a 30 percent overall reduction in Montgomery County's groundwater usage by 2016 to reduce increasing demand on the Gulf Coast Aquifer, Smith said. Groundwater is found in various layers of rocks, sand and soil in underground aquifers, and surface water is located above ground in lakes, ponds and other resources.

To reduce reliance on groundwater by the mandated 30 percent, the SJRA—in phase one of its surface water project—will build a water treatment plant at Lake Conroe and add new lines to distribute surface water to seven entities including Oak Ridge North, Conroe and The Woodlands by 2024, Trow said. Residents within those seven entities will pay an additional surface water fee once water is delivered, which will begin in 2015. Other county water systems, including those in the Magnolia and Pinehurst areas, will continue receiving groundwater and pay a pumpage fee only, she said.

"The reason that we chose to do it that way is because if we would have literally sent [surface water] to every single participant instead of us doing a pipeline of 57 miles, it would've been a [larger] pipeline, so the $500 million [for the project] could have been double that," Trow said.

There are an estimated 138 water systems in Montgomery County that participate in the SJRA groundwater reduction plan, servicing about 350,750 people, Smith said. Among the 138 water systems, the Magnolia and Pinehurst areas are expected to continue using groundwater wells and are not included in the seven entities that will switch to using surface water from Lake Conroe in Phase 1 of the SJRA project.

"By converting a large portion of those systems' water use from groundwater [wells] to surface water from Lake Conroe, the entire GRP participant group's average groundwater demand is reduced by the Lone Star [Groundwater Conservation District's] mandated 30 percent," Smith said.

Conroe and The Woodlands are responsible for using 60 to 70 percent of the water in Montgomery County, which is why the demand to reduce reliance on groundwater by switching to surface water is greater in those areas, he said.

City of Magnolia

The city of Magnolia signed a contract and opted to join the groundwater reduction plan in 2010 after SJRA General Manager Jace Houston made a presentation to City Council, Trow said. The presentation included research indicating Magnolia could have had to pay triple the amount of fees incurred as an SJRA participant if the city did not join the plan and attempted to reduce groundwater usage on its own, Trow said.

"The residents are always concerned because right now many water bills have doubled," Magnolia City Administrator Paul Mendes said. "[Joining the SJRA has] done two things—it has gotten people conscious about water conservation, and it has reduced some of the consumption."

Mendes said about 1,100 residential and commercial entities receive water from the city at a rate of about $2 per 1,000 gallons. Customers pay $1.75 of that amount to the SJRA each month, totaling an estimated $20,000–$24,000, and the remaining 25 cents is allocated to the city to cover its distribution costs, Mendes said. The city's rate is likely to increase about 4 or 5 percent to $2.50 per 1,000 gallons this fall when the SJRA raises its rates, he said.

"It's difficult to have to pay these fees, but it's a very necessary requirement because water is so important to us throughout the area," Mendes said. "When you get more growth like the entire county is facing, the water consumption is going to increase tremendously. We've got to take care of our water and sometimes it requires tightening our belt."

Barry Tate, chairman of the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce legislative and external affairs division, said his chamber committee is developing a plan in the next few months to assess water needs and ways to reduce groundwater usage. Tate said many residents might not understand the background behind the SJRA and reason for the rate increases.

"With the groundwater reduction plan, bonds issued and fees assessed, just from that, people's water bills went up 30, 40 or 50 percent," Tate said. "It's a big impact and a lot of folks didn't have much warning. The reality is growth in [Montgomery County] is necessitating the need for this [SJRA] project and plan."

Other water providers

Each of the water systems that participate in the groundwater reduction plan are able to charge individual distribution fees to customers in addition to pumpage fees collected for the SJRA, Trow said.

Aqua Texas and Quadvest provide water to several Magnolia area subdivisions such as Indigo Ranch, Timberloch Estates, Decker Oaks and Mostyn Manor. Instead of paying a direct fee to the SJRA, Aqua Texas and Quadvest customers are charged a pass-through fee per 1,000 gallons in their water bills, according to officials from both providers. This fee is a general charge with revenue split among all of the water regulatory authorities in the company's multicounty coverage area, such as the SJRA and the North Channel Water Authority in the Houston area.

"Rather than implement [the increases from the SJRA] as they come through, we absorb them and then pass them through after we receive the approval on our own tariffs," Aqua Texas President Robert Laughman said. "Our customers won't immediately be impacted [by the SJRA rate increases]."

Laughman said the company last implemented a pass-through rate increase in 2012, and he does not foresee another increase taking place until after the first quarter of 2015, since pass-through rates are reassessed on an annual basis.

Quadvest officials said no pass-through fee increases have been discussed, and the company may reassess the fees once the SJRA rates increase this fall.

Differing from Aqua Texas and Quadvest, HMW Special Utility District customers pay a direct fee to the SJRA in their bills, which includes an extra charge for the district's own water distribution costs. HMW officials said any possible rate increases have not been determined, and the district's board of directors will re-evaluate the rates in mid-September.