Our Aquifer Groundwater

Dear residents,

The water committee has prepared a Technical Report on the current and estimated future condition of our Aquifer groundwater.

Below is a summary of the full technical report in the attachment, which evaluates the long-term viability of our neighborhood water system in response to ongoing drought conditions and rapid regional population growth (p. 1). While our short-term supply is stable, action is required to protect our future water security and property values.

1. Aquifer Health & Regional Outlook. Our neighborhood draws groundwater from the Trinity Aquifer (specifically the Cow Creek formation).

- The Drought Dilemma: The Hill Country has faced a continuous rain deficit of over 30 inches since 2022. The Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD) has imposed a Stage 4 Emergency Drought condition, which mandates that our water company, Southwest Liquids (SWL), cut localized groundwater pumping by 40%. - Long-Term Water Levels: State planning models suggest that localized water levels in Dripping Springs could decline by over 100 feet by 2040. Alarmingly, the HTGCD reports that real-world regulatory drawdown limits have already been surpassed. - Regulatory Underfunding: Legal disputes with large corporate water providers have heavily depleted HTGCD's operating budget, with 30% to 50% spent entirely on litigation. This drastically limits their capability to monitor our regional water supply.

2. Our Local Wells & Infrastructure. La Ventana relies entirely on three neighborhood wells (p. 8). However, our infrastructure faces critical performance issues:

Current Well Performance Data (April 2026)

Well #1 La Ventana Pkwy 65 GPM Safe from interference; but flow rate dropped sharply after clogging from Hammett shale debris. Well #2 Covered Bridge 10 GPM Operational, but the water tracking transducer has failed. Current water levels are completely unknown. Well #3 Driving Range 59 GPM Performs well, but sits only 900 feet from Well 2. High operational overlap makes running both together highly inefficient.

3. Household Water Consumption Trends. As a community, La Ventana residents have established excellent conservation habits.

- Average Daily Usage: Our neighborhood's average consumption has dropped to 258 gallons per meter per day, successfully meeting the 40% Stage 4 drought reduction target. - Fewer Over-Users: High-volume household users dropped significantly from over 40 accounts to fewer than 20 accounts over the past year. - ROA Infrastructure Upgrades: The ROA re-established the Water Committee, turned off the Clubhouse irrigation system, and built a 40,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system exclusively to combat pool evaporation.

4. Strategic Options & Moving Forward

To successfully protect La Ventana's water network, the committee is analyzing the following technical solutions:

Supply Side

- Drill Well #4 (Recommended): Southwest Liquids is reviewing plans to drill a deep-bore well into the Lower Trinity formation near the Well #1 site. SWL is also considering additional repairs to existing wells.. This remains the most cost-effective path to lock in a dependable baseline supply over a 2-to-3-year window. - Back HTGCD legislation and regional water supply solutions. Authorize WC as community representatives for discussions with the District and other governmental entities for the purpose of finding sustainable options for LV. Demand Side

- Broaden native plant landscaping. - Residential Harvesting: Roughly one-third of our homes use rainwater harvesting systems. The committee highly encourages expansion to minimize the direct strain on our shared aquifer. - Strict enforcement of seasonal water budgets.

Recommended ROA Next Steps

- Continue to encourage Southwest Liquids to repair Well #2's monitoring system and evaluate rework options for all Wells. - Continue coordination with SWL to identify land easements and funding frameworks with SWL to accelerate the development of Well #4. - Formally endorse state legislation to increase funding, revenue authority, and protective enforcement options for the HTGCD. - Enact stricter ROA architectural rules favoring hardscaping and native Texas plants over high-water turf grasses.

If you would like to get involved, please let us know:

- Do you have technical or engineering experience to assist the Water Committee? - Would you support ROA incentives for installing personal water saving landscaping and/or equipment? - Are you available to attend the next open board meeting regarding the Well #4 project timeline? Your proactive feedback helps protect our shared community resources. If you would like to know more, please refer to the detailed report in the attachment -

La Ventana Water Supply Technical Report_Summary_22Jun26.pdf