Edwards Aquifer Authority cancels election after board candidates file unopposed

The Edwards Aquifer Authority has canceled its November election since all seven open seats will be filled by candidates who are unopposed.

The Edwards Aquifer Authority is the groundwater district that regulates how much water can be pumped out of the Edwards Aquifer in order to protect its springs and the endangered species living in them.

The authority has a governing board composed of 15 directors elected from the single-member election districts and two non-voting, appointed directors. Elected directors serve staggered four-year terms which expire Dec. 1 of each even-numbered year. 

The authority was created in 1993 by the Texas Legislature to manage and protect the Edwards Aquifer. It was established in response to issues like over-extraction, contamination and the need for coordinated water management among various stakeholders in the region.

The Edwards Aquifer spans eight counties and supplies water to over 2 million people in Central Texas, including San Antonio. Edwards Aquifer water makes up roughly half of the water used by the San Antonio Water System, a city-owned utility that is San Antonio’s main provider of water and wastewater services.

For 2024, the board had ordered an election for the directors of districts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 back in July. The deadline to file for a place on the ballot was Aug. 19 and the deadline to declare as a write-in candidate was Aug. 23.

Earlier this month, the authority’s board secretary certified that all seven seats had unopposed candidates. Because write-in candidates for this election can only come from a list of certified write-ins, and none were submitted, the election results were decided.

The new directors are as follows: