About Us

59 Years of Public Service

Feeling the need to protect their underground water supply, more than fifty landowners, in and around Panhandle, Texas, submitted a petition to the State Board of Water Engineers in Austin, on August 22, 1955.  The petition stated their desire to form an underground water conservation district south of the Canadian River in the Panhandle of Texas.  The State Board of Engineers conducted a public hearing in the city of Panhandle, on October 5, 1955.  As a result of that hearing, an election was called for January 21, 1956.  The election results showed 360 votes for creating the district, and 74 votes against it.   Thus, due to the concerns of these landowners, Panhandle Ground Water Conservation District #3came into being.  (In May 1999, the 55th Texas Legislature, through H.B. No. 2199, officially changed the District’s name from Panhandle Ground Water Conservation District No. 3 South of the Canadian River, in Texas, to Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District).
           
The first directors of the district, also chosen at that election, were A. L. Stovall, President; Raymond Durrett, Vice-President; C. Russell McConnell, Secretary; and John Harnly, Director.
           
The first meetings of the newly created district were held in the County Commissioner’s room in the Carson County Courthouse, in Panhandle.  In February, 1956, A. J. Weiser was hired as part-time manager and the meeting place was moved to the First National Bank building, in Panhandle.
           
The first years the District was in operation were very busy.  Mainly, the directors set up rules for the District, approved hundreds of water well drilling permits, and dealt with tail-water problems.
           
In May 1957, the Board hired Mr. Felix Ryals as part-time manager.  It was also necessary to find a new meeting place and the District office was moved to White Deer, in a room at the White Deer School office.  Mrs. James (Maureen) Stalls, was the District’s first secretary.
           
The first Scholarship Program was initiated in 1957, and the first winners were announced in May 1958.  The Board voted to award three college scholarships annually, in the amounts of $150, $100, and $50 for the best essays on “The Importance of Water Conservation.”  This contest was open to any senior high school student in the District.  Winners of the first contest were John Davis, Mary Lou Miller, and Cloyd Bender.   
           
Things remained pretty much the same, until May 1963, when the Board decided the District needed a full-time manager.  Mr. Ryals accepted the full-time position.     In August 1963, the Panhandle Ground Water District office was moved to the T. C. Jackson Building, on Main Street, where it remained until the need for more space necessitated the next move.  In November 1966, three lots on South Omohundro Street
in White Deer were purchased and work began on a new office for PGCD.
           
The Board of Directors held their first meeting in the newly constructed building on May 1, 1967.  Although the original building has undergone two additions, and the entrance was moved to the north side of the building, this site continues to house the District office.
           
Mr. Ryals served as manager of the District until his retirement on October 1, 1979.  At that time, Mr. Richard Bowers became District Manager, and served in that capacity until December 1986, when he resigned to become District Manager of the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District.  At that time, Mr. Gary L. Walker was employed as District Manager and served until January 1990, when he resigned to become the District Manager of Sandy Land Underground Water Conservation District.  The present District Manager, Mr. C. E. Williams, began his tenure on February 1, 1990.
           
The first set of District Rules was adopted on July 1, 1957.  Since that date, the Rules have been amended nineteen times, with the latest amendment adopted on December 15, 2004.
           
The District’s Water Quality Program was begun in 1987.  Manager Gary L. Walker designed the laboratory and built cabinets to house water sampling components and instruments.  A network of domestic wells throughout the District was set up for sampling each summer.  As the District grew, so did the Water Quality Program.  In 2004, approximately 400 wells were included. 
           
 From 1955 through 1988, the District consisted of the main portion of Carson County, about half of Gray County, a small portion of Potter County and a small portion of Armstrong County.  In 1988, the remainder of Gray County was annexed into the District and in 1991 Donley County, the major portion of Armstrong County, and the remainder of Carson County joined the District.  This was followed by the addition of Roberts County in 1994, Wheeler County in 1997, and in 2000, the remainder of Potter County, except the southwest portion that is in High Plains UWCD, came into the District.
           

The District staff is continually busy, processing water well drilling permits, taking depth-to-water measurements each winter from a network of some 800 wells throughout the District, preparing decline maps and mailing depletion letters to landowners, picking up and analyzing water quality samples from approximately 200 domestic wells each summer, and monitoring tail-water complaints.
           
Programs that have been added, during the last fifteen years, include:
            The Agricultural Water Conservation Equipment Loan Program:  The District obtains money from the Texas Water Development Board, and in turn loans it to producers, to purchase water efficient sprinkler systems.  
            School Education Program: During the school year, the District’s Education Director, visits each fifth grade class within the District, to present an interesting and informative program on water conservation.  During the 2004-2005 school year, the education program reached 2,317students at 49 schools.  We also provide the “Major Rivers” education program for fourth grade students.
            Metering Program:  The Metering Program was initiated in 1999, with funding provided by the Texas Water Development Board, and funds administered through Region A, as part of the regional planning effort.  This continued through 2002.  In May 2004, the District passed a rule requiring meters on all newly drilled wells that have a 4-inch or larger column pipe.  The District offers a 50/50 cost share on any meters voluntarily installed on existing wells.
            Precipitation Enhancement Program:  In 2000, the District entered into the Precipitation Enhancement Program, to augment the rainfall in this semi-arid region and relieve the strain on the Ogallala Aquifer.  The state provided matching funds for precipitation enhancement, through 2004. 
             


DISTRICT MANAGERS
J. A. Weiser                1956 – 1957
Felix Ryals                  1957 – 1979
Richard Bowers          1979 – 1986
Gary L. Walker           1986 – 1990
C. E. Williams            1990 – Present


BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A.    L. Stovall                       1956 - 1958
Raymond Durrett                   1956 - 1964
C.     Russell McConnell        1956 - 1969
John H. Harnly                       1956 - 1968
Fred S. Vanderburg, Jr.          1956 - 1985
 Phil H. Hawkins                     1959 - 1969
Stewart Purvines                    1964 - 1972
J. D. Skaggs                           1968 - 1972
James B. McCray                   1969 - 1985
Raymond Blodgett                 1969 - 1992
Nolan Poteet                           1972 - 1977
John R. Spearman                   1972 - 2000
William S. (Bill) Purvines      1977 - 1990
G. M. Walls, Jr.                      1985 - 1990
Frank Simms                          1985 - 2002
Charles Bowers                      1990 - Present
Phillip Smith                          1990 - Present
Joe Blanton                            1992
James Cope                            1992 - 1994
Jerry Green                             1992 - 1999
Jim Thompson                        1994 - Present
Robert A. Clark                      1994 - 2004
Danny Hardcastle                   1997 - Present
Jason C. Green                        1999 - 2013
John R. Spearman, Jr.             2000 - Present
John McKissack                      2000 - 2006
Billy Van Crawford                 2002 - Present
Kim Flowers                            2004 - 2008
Thomas Cambridge                 2006 - 2010
F. G. Collard                           2010 - Present
Steve Hale                               2008 - 2013
Bill Breeding                           2013 - Present
Chancy Cruse                          2013 - Present