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June 23, 2025
Home / Articles / Mayor Gutierrez’s Letter to Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District Board

Mayor Gutierrez’s Letter to Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District Board

June 23, 2025

Members of the Board
Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District
112 West 3rd Street
Hearne, TX 77859

Dear Members of the Board,

The headlines should be a wakeup call to all Texans – but mostly to those of us in positions of responsibility to shepherd the future of our communities and region. We should all be surprised at the approach of wholesale water mining taking place up and down the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer.

As stewards of the Brazos Valley, we write with deep concern and a firm conviction that this moment requires more than routine administration — it calls for bold, principled leadership to protect one of our region’s most vital and irreplaceable resources: our groundwater.

The Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, and others like it, are not simply sources of water — they are the bedrock of life, livelihood, and generational continuity in this region. Families, farmers, small towns, and entire industries depend on this water for their survival. It is not a commodity to be mined like iron ore and exported for profit, but a resource to be protected for those who will inherit this land. This water mining is not just taking place here in our groundwater conservation district but all around us, making us ask, how many straws can one aquifer support?

Recent developments — and the justified alarm expressed by many of your fellow Texans — make clear that current rules and enforcement mechanisms may not be adequate to prevent exploitation by outside interests. And while some of these interests claim they are providing water to fast-growing areas of Texas; the fact is the Brazos Valley is the heart of the Texas Triangle. While we are still considered a rural area, all the demographic projections indicate that between 35 and 47 million people will call the Texas Triangle home in the next two decades — what will they do for water resources?

We urge the Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District to take immediate and proactive steps to:

  • Strengthen its rules and permitting framework, using every available tool to prevent the depletion of aquifers for export;
  • Initiate or support legislative efforts to clarify and reinforce the original intent behind Texas groundwater conservation law — surely the Legislature never envisioned nor intended for these locally governed districts to become gateways for large-scale water mining and extraction;
  • Deny or limit export-focused permits unless and until independent hydrological science conclusively demonstrates that local users and long-term aquifer health will not be harmed; and
  • Prioritize local and regional needs, ensuring the people of the Brazos Valley — both present and future — have secure access to the water they depend on.

The eyes of rural Texas are upon you. What happens here will set precedent not just for the Brazos Valley, but for communities across the state facing similar threats. We urge you to act decisively — not just for today, but for the generations who will live with the consequences of these decisions.

We thank you for your service and your consideration of this urgent request.

Sincerely,
Bobby Gutierrez
Mayor

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