Friends of Hondo Canyon

“Name: bandera canyonlands alliance cash contribution: 50,000”

“Legal expenses supporting bandera county river authority and groundwater district's denial of a large volume groundwater withdrawal permit. We represented members (n=253) and residents of the city of bandera (n=856). Expenses included depositiions, 3 day soah trial, and the hiring of 3 expert witnesses who presented scientific evidence that the groundwater requested was not available without causing harm to the availability of groundwater to other residents in bandera county, and other counties that rely on the trinity aquifers for their water supply.”

“As part of our mission to assist the bandera county river authority and groundwater district, we raised funds to drill dedicated aquifer monitor wells so that the district could track aquifer levels using usgs satellite tracking. Two monitor wells on private land were completed in hondo canyon (middle trinity 2022 and lower trinity 2025). Funds for two additional wells monitoring the most western part of bandera county (sabinal canyon) were also raised. We presented a partner 501(c)(3) organization, bandera canyonlands alliance, with 50,000 to help fund drilling of monitor wells, asking them to identify a suitable site for the wells. Affected persons: residents of bandera county (n=2,300).”

“Friends of hondo canyon was established in 2018 to preserve and protect the quantity and quality of water in hondo canyon, a canyon spanning bandera and medina counties in texas. A similar 501(c)(3) organization (bandera canyonlands alliance (ein: 32- 0241394) operates in sabinal canyon (the canyon west of hondo canyon). When we began our organization, bandera county had limited dedicated groundwater monitoring wells that provide essential information regarding the status of aquifers. Friends of hondo canyon began fundraising so that monies could be donated to the bandera county river authority and groundwater district to help drill monitor wells. Friends of hondo canyon also assisted in located suitable locations, procuring agreements between private landowners and usgs to develop the sites. Our fund raising efforts, spanning 2019- 2022, raised sufficient monies to fund 2 sets of two monitor wells for the western part of bandera county. Two wells were drilled in hondo canyon (middle trinity 2022; lower trinity 2025), leaving 50,000 to fund wells in sabinal canyon. Covid and drought delayed the drilling by 1 year for the lower trinity in hondo canyon; efforts to identify a suitable site for the sabinal canyon have been underway by bandera canyonlands alliance, so friends of hondo canyon transferred the funds raised to that organization in 2025 (wells have yet to be drilled). Bandera county has been in exceptional drought for several years, and attention to excessive groundwater withdrawals that have not adequately identified beneficial use, as defined by the texas water code, have received scrutiny. Friends of hondo canyon asked to be named an affected party in a lawsuit filed by a commercial entity in bandera county whose proposed groundwater withdrawal would severely impact the ability of other landowners to procure groundwater. Friends of hondo canyon has also participated in other significant water issues in our county, including requesting an increase in minimum plat size (plat size determining the number of new domestic wells that can be permitted), and working with several landowner groups on how to effectively protest applications for wastewater effluent discharge into low phosphorus creeks. Such discharge is known to cause algal blooms, which destroy the flora and fauna of these pristine streams. In 2021, we raised money to put through a bill in the texas legislature to protect low phosphorous streams from direct wastewater discharge permits (permits issued by texas commission of environmental quality (tceq)). We hired a scientist, and wrote an annotative bibliography reviewing complicated scientific experiments, and presented this to the legislature. The bill passed the house but was stalled in the senate.”