ESBD_511448_1779400737018_ASR Conserve 2025-10.pdf
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- Solicitation number
- 00126TES
- Issued by
- Bexar County, Texas
About this file
This is a Request for Proposals issued by the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), a political subdivision of the State of Texas located in San Antonio, for Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (EAHCP) Media, Outreach, and Newsletter Communications services. The EAA seeks a contractor to perform four primary tasks: attend EAHCP committee meetings and EAA Board meetings; develop and publish six bi-monthly EAHCP electronic newsletters with stories, photos, and audio content; attend stakeholder meetings and provide ASR and VISPO outreach support, including development of six bi-monthly hardcopy EAHCP Conserve Newsletters and promotional materials for up to four regional lunch meetings; and provide videography and miscellaneous media content work with a maximum of four video productions of ten minutes or less each. The RFP was issued on May 4, 2026, with a questions deadline of May 19, 2026, and proposals due by 3:00 p.m. Central Time on May 27, 2026. Proposals may be submitted electronically via BidNet Direct or physically to Ms. Shelly Hendrix at the EAA offices. The contract will be awarded as a time-and-materials agreement not to exceed an agreed-upon total amount and includes an option to renew for two additional years.
Selection will be based on weighted criteria: Commercial Quality (60 points), which includes satisfactory response to terms and conditions, experience with similar programs, proposal quality, and customer references; Cost Factors (30 points); and Vendor Location and Schedule (10 points). Offerors must provide three client references for similar newsletter editing and communication services provided within the past five years, and proposals must remain valid for ninety calendar days from the proposal opening date. The EAA strongly encourages minority-owned and women-owned businesses (M/WBEs) to submit proposals and has established a good faith effort goal to award 30 percent of total contract amounts to M/WBEs, requiring completion of a Project Subcontracting Plan (Attachment A4). Successful offerors must provide proof of insurance coverage including worker's compensation, commercial general liability of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, and automobile liability insurance of $500,000 combined single limit. The EAA is exempt from sales tax but may be subject to other taxes, which must be specified by offerors. Selected contractors may be required to submit a Form 1295 disclosure of interested parties if the contract value meets certain thresholds.
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Text version
This newsletter is dedicated to providing Edwards Aquifer permit holders useful information about the EAHCP springflow protection programs.
November 2025
C O N S E R V E
What’s in Store for 2026
The Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) initiated an additional water rights lease option that all Edwards Aquifer water rights holders can take part in. While not set in stone, we can call it the Base Irrigation Groundwater Leasing Program…for now.
“All Edwards Aquifer permit holders should be very familiar with the ASR and VISPO programs that are key components of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (EAHCP),” said ASR and VISPO Program Manager Javier Hernandez. “Those programs have been very successful in helping protect endangered species living in the ecosystems fed by springs flowing from the Edwards Aquifer. So, as the EAHCP permittees work toward renewing its U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Incidental Take Permit in 2028, which sets out how the Edwards Region must protect those species, the team is also looking at new options for enhancing those protection measures. And, the EAA is looking at some traditional means of leasing water rights to augment the contracted water in the ASR and VISPO programs.”
Hernandez described the new EAHCP lease program as an “open market” type of water acquisition where the EAA would control the amount of leased water in 10-year periods. There would be no annual reserve payments, trigger level calculations, or forbearance year payments. The EAA water rights system also designates water rights in two categories—-restricted (or base water) and unrestricted. These leases would only be open to base (restricted) water rights that irrigation permit holders have.
EAA developing new water lease opportunities for Edwards Aquifer permit holders
“Though we’re primarily talking about 10-year lease periods, we are trying to stay flexible in being able to negotiate with interested parties about the overall lease terms,” Hernandez explained. “You never know what might work for both parties and we don’t want to preclude any opportunities that would benefit both the EAHCP and permit holders. We haven’t really finalized a formal structure of the program so we would encourage people to call us to talk about possibilities.”
As outlined in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Permit (USFWS) managed by the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan permittees, the Edwards Region is required to have a total of 126,000 acre-feet of Edwards water in storage and ready for use during a repeat of the 1950s drought of record conditions. That storage requirement was certified as completed in January 2021. The ASR and VISPO forbearance programs and open market lease options will be the primary elements used in the 2028 USFWS permit renewal to meet that goal.
VISPO Triggers Forbearance Payments for 2026
On October 1, the Edwards Aquifer level at the J-17 index well registered at 628.4 feet MSL (mean sea level) which is below the VISPO trigger level of 635 feet MSL. That means that all water enrolled in VISPO will not be available for pumping next year (2026). The EAHCP will be paying out the higher water use suspension rate of $214 per acre-foot with checks being mailed by March 1 of next year.
While the ASR Springflow Protection Measure is nearly at capacity, Hernandez noted that VISPO program still has more than 8,000 acre-feet of space open for enrollment.
“There are many considerations for water rights holders to think about when weighing the benefits of becoming part of the ASR and/or VISPO Programs or maybe even doing a traditional water lease,” Hernandez concluded. “Given that fact that both ASR and VISPO rely on recharge of the Edwards Aquifer via rainfall, the current drought conditions have already impacted the implementation of the programs. And, with dry weather cycles predicted to continue in 2026, there will be even more to talk about how that factor can play into a decision for permit holders.
“Fortunately, we maintain a tremendous amount of data and information on each water rights holder’s water use each year. With that information, we can walk each permit holder through all their options so we can accurately advise interested parties on how they might improve their water management and financial situations by enrolling water in the programs.”
You can contact Javier Hernandez at: 210-222-2204, ext.139, or email, jhernandez@edwardsaquifer.org.
Paul Bertetti, EAA Senior Director Aquifer Science Research & Modeling, speaks to several hundred people at the EAA 2025 Water Summit.
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .