Cities of Bryan and College Station ask for more authority to pump water

This podcast contains comments from the October 7, 2025 Bryan city council meeting.The cities of Bryan and College Station take another step towards protecting the cities future water supply.A letter signed by the city managers of both cities was sent to the 11 county groundwater management area (GMA 12) that includes both cities.The letter asks for permission to pump from an underground aquifer at a deeper level to support future demands.The cities support the proposed plan that was developed by the Brazos Valley groundwater conservation district (BVGCD), which covers Brazos and Robertson counties.Click HERE to read and download the letter provided by the city of College Station that was sent to the manager of GMA 12.Bryan public works director Jayson Barfknecht tells WTAW News that water from the Simsboro aquifer can currently be pumped from a level of 262 feet. Barfknecht says the proposal calls for pumping from a depth of 330 feet.Barfknecht says if the depth stays at 262 feet or moves to 220 feet or something shallower, "than we have the potential to face curtailment within our district sooner which could economically impact both Brazos and Robertson County."The Bryan council unanimously voted for the plan at its October 7th regular meeting.Council members were told that some if not all of the remaining nine counties in GMA 12 does not support the proposed plan.