Mayor New: Hero or Goat on Water?

The Abilene Reporter-News reported on a Texas Legislative hearing on Climate Change.  Our mayor testified during this session.

San Angelo Mayor Alvin New testified about the hardships related to the evaporation loss of surface water in reservoirs under the influence of increasing heat. His city of 95,000 is 100 percent dependent on that surface water until a project is completed to bring water from a distant aquifer into the drinking water supply of San Angelo.

Livestock has suffered, and herds are being decimated. New noted that because of the scarcity of available cattle in the area, a packing plant recently had shut down, affecting 200 jobs; although the operation was bought by an out-of-town company that intends to reopen it.

“These things do have actual, boots-on-the-ground consequences,” New said.

Step back to the City's pumping of the South Pool during last summer's brutal heat.  Water Chief Will Wilde sold the pumping job with predictions of no loss for evaporation or seepage.   Neither the Mayor nor Council challenged the plan's lofty assumptions. They later learned the significant losses from seepage and evaporation

City Council August 21, 2012 Water from City of San Angelo Texas

This was information new Water Chief Ricky Dickson seemed to think wasn't in existence.  One might expect the new guy to peruse Council presentations on water topics in the last year.  Council members treat Dickson with kid gloves, at least that's my take.

New will be judged by his Jeckyll-Hyde approach to conservation-selling water for money.  After Hickory comes on line, he'll be judged by the radioactivity readings.