The GMA 12 Panel will consist of the five general managers of the Groundwater Conservation Districts within GMA 12. The general managers will discuss how the GCDs are working together.
Jim Totten – Lost Pines GCD
David Van Dresar – Fayette County GCD
Alan Day – Brazos Valley GCD
Gary Westbrook – Post Oak Savannah GCD
David Bailey – Mid-East Texas GCD
Jim Totten joined the staff of Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District in November of 2012 in the role of assistant general manager and assumed the role of general manager in January of 2015.
David Van Dresar, the General Manager of Fayette County GCD, has been in the water and wastewater field for 30 years. He currently serves on the Texas Drought Preparedness Council and the Texas Groundwater Protection Committee as the TAGD representative. Van Dresar said that by attending the Summit, residents and well owners would gain insight to how GCDs work, what they provide to the public, and how the GCDs tie in to what their rights as landowners are.
Alan Day has served as the General Manager for the Brazos Valley GCD for five years. Day served as the County Extension Agent for over 7 years before becoming a Ranch Manager in Bosque County for 27 years. He served on the Middle Trinity GCD Board of Directors for 3 years before moving to the Brazos Valley. “The Summit will be an excellent opportunity to ask questions of the GMA 12 panelists about aquifer management and why management methods vary so widely,” Day said. “There is a method to the madness.”
Gary Westbrook has been the General Manager of Post Oak Savannah GCD since 2003. Westbrook served as President of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts (TAGD) from 2005 to 2007 and currently represents GMA 12 on the Brazos G Regional Water Planning Group. Westbrook said, “This panel represents a great opportunity for citizens to witness first hand how we as general managers in GMA 12 work together on issues. And, since this panel constitutes a quorum of the voting members of GMA 12, it will be posted as a GMA 12 meeting, according to the laws of the state of Texas. As such, it will very much be part of the regular business of GMA 12.”
David Bailey has been the General Manager of Mid-East Texas GCD since 2010 and serves on the Budget and Finance Committee for TAGD. He is also the voting member for GMA 12 and serves as the GMA 12 representative on both the Region C and Region H Water Planning Groups. “Managing groundwater resources in today’s legislative and regulatory framework is difficult,” Bailey said. “It can be a delicate balancing act. It is important for people to know that we are here to help. It is our desire for all to have the groundwater they need—we just have to do that in a manner that ensures all are protected.”
For more information about the 2017 Milam & Burleson Counties Groundwater Summit, click here. The Summit is free and open to the public with lunch provided. It will be held at the Caldwell Civic Center at 103 TX-21 in Caldwell, Texas on August 16, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
