The Watershed Association continues its work protecting local ratepayers as Aqua Texas pursues a statewide Comprehensive Rate Case at the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC). This proceeding, PUC Docket No. 58124, could significantly reshape water and sewer bills for more than 170,000 Texans, including many in the Hill Country and Wimberley Valley.


Our SIC Case Victory: A Foundation for Today's Fight

Earlier this year, the Watershed Association achieved a significant win for ratepayers in Aqua Texas' System Improvement Charge (SIC) proceeding. In a unanimous decision, the PUC denied Aqua's request for an $8.8 million annual increase through its SIC amendment. The Commission identified significant deficiencies in Aqua's filing, including inadequate documentation and a failure to distinguish between routine maintenance and capital improvements.

With a heavy heart, we note the passing of J. David Bamberger, the founder of Selah Bamberger Ranch Preserve. Bamberger, a Texas Hill Country conservationist, whose influence will be felt for generations, left behind one of the most remarkable conservation legacies in the region. J. David dedicated the second half of his life to a radical act of restoration: taking degraded land and bringing it back to life. He passed peacefully, surrounded by family at the wonderfully precise age of 97 years, 6 months, 3 weeks, and 6 days (a detail J. David would have appreciated!).

When he purchased his property in Blanco County, the land was bare, overgrazed, and bone dry. Early wells produced no water. Rainfall ran off instead of sinking in. J. David’s answer was not a quick fix, but a commitment. By selectively removing cedar, restoring native grasses, and working with the land instead of against it, the springs slowly returned. Two and a half years after restoration began, the first spring came to life. More followed. Planting and cultivating grass, which he lovingly called “the greatest conservation tool ever made”, changed everything.

But Selah was never meant to be a private triumph. J. David believed stewardship required generosity: “I believe it’s to take care of it and to share it. And if you don’t share what you have, you’re gonna live a lonely life.” Thousands experienced that spirit: students, landowners, researchers, birders, photographers, and neighbors, leaving with renewed respect for how land, water, and wildlife can recover when we choose care over neglect.

His impact reached far beyond Blanco County. For many in the Hill Country, J. David was proof that ecological restoration is not only possible, but hopeful and urgently needed. Andy Sansom captured the scale of that gift when he called J. David Bamberger “a cathedral builder,” a legacy steward constructing something meant to last long beyond his own lifetime. He urged, “If you love the landscape of our state, I encourage each of you to do what you can… so that the legacy of J. David Bamberger will extend well beyond his lifetime and yours as well.”

J. David himself put it more simply on a hike at Selah in his mid-90s: “If I ever had the chance to live life again, I’d come right back here to Selah.”

We are grateful for his vision, his humor, his generosity, and his steadfastness. His legacy remains alive in Selah, in the springs that now flow as a result of his efforts, and in the thousands of people he inspires to care for land, water, and wildlife.

Rest easy, J. David, and thank you for showing us what true restoration and conservation can look like.

Memorial contributions in J. David’s honor may be made to Selah Bamberger Ranch Preserve. https://www.bambergerranch.org/donate

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us for the Water Wise series! Over the past few months, we were grateful to host four engaging and well-attended events exploring aquifer health and water flows, Water Wise native plant gardens, integrating native landscapes into neighborhoods, and hands-on practices like wicking gardens and seed saving.

We at the Watershed Association are deeply appreciative to have brought this program to our community as part of the Blanco-Cypress Watershed Protection Plan (BCWPP), in collaboration with Hays County, the City of Woodcreek, and the City of Wimberley, partnerships that are essential to conserving and protecting our region’s water.

We’d also like to extend a special thank you to Salwa Khan for her incredible support in launching the very first season of this program.

We look forward to offering expanded community education programs to continue to inspire stewardship across the region.

Early this year, we heard word that Las Moras Springs, a heritage swimming area connected to the Edwards Aquifer about 200 miles southwest, was again under threat: this time, by its own Groundwater Conservation District. The Kinney County Groundwater Conservation District had received legal advice to pursue something called 'non-relevancy' status in the Edwards Aquifer planning groups. 

This designation would permanently remove those springs and the Groundwater Conservation District from regional water planning, as well as create a dangerous precedent for similar springs that share the Edwards Aquifer. They claimed that the spring's flow was not affected by groundwater levels but instead exclusively affected by rainfall.


In support of David Palmer, the area's self-appointed spring protector, the Watershed Association staff wrote a letter to the Kinney County Groundwater Conservation District Board of Directors, detailing the value of regional planning, science-based decision making, and preservation of the power of local groundwater management districts. 


And in a swift turn of events, the presentation and letter worked! The Board voted against non-relevancy status, marking a huge win for spring protection in Texas, only 4 days into 2026. 


Read our letter here and read more about the fight to protect these waters in Texas Monthly and the Big Bend Sentinel! 

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