"MCEDC board discussions a deep dive into county issues" by: Mike Reddell

   I enjoy covering Matagorda County Economic Development Corporation board meetings. 
  A lot of issues come up – and they're all economic development related. 
  Last week, members discussed water issues and how Matagorda County will again have to fight for its right to Colorado River water. 
  Mitch Thames, Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture president, talked about getting General Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham down to Matagorda County for a better understanding of our needs. 
  He also said Matagorda County needs to monitor LCRA on Highland reservoir levels before the 2025 water management plan is done. 
  LCRA uses those Highland levels to determine river flows to the lower Colorado River basin. 
  Those lower basin counties have received less river flows due to drought and intensive pressure from central Texas river organizations. 
  Those groups have characterized river flows to Matagorda, Wharton, and Colorado counties as going to "rich rice farmers," Thames said. 
  Local board members, such as County Judge Bobby Seiferman, who have been to LCRA board meetings have encountered bitter members of the Colorado River Alliance who consider lower basin residents as "the enemy." 
  "It's not just rice farmers, it's the bays, river, and estuaries, sports fishing – the entire infrastructure is affected," he stressed, including when river flow is cut. 
  Thames said a luncheon could be set up to hear the presentation on the lower counties plight for Buckingham, including a condensed "high points" version for the public. 
  County Commissioner Mike Estlinbaum, a former rice farmer, told how Central Texas communities have been united against lower basin communities since the 1980s. 
  Estlinbaum said he ignores LCRA urges to cut river flows downstream until the authority forces City of Austin to shut down lawn and golf course watering, esplanades, fountains and building permits. 
  Another threat to Colorado River flow will come from ranches upstream from the Highland reservoirs that are breaking up into ranchettes – each capturing its own water rights to raise cattle.  
  Shifting gears a bit, another board member, Palacios ISD Superintendent Dr. Bill Chapman, talked about the difficulties a proposed downtown oyster research and education oyster hatchery building is facing. 
  The three-story building funded by the Corpus Christi-based Ed Rachal Foundation would represent a first-class scientific institution for Palacios, Chapman said. 
  Instead, a recent hearing drew a few naysayers and city council later postponed a height variance for the structure. 
  That affects not only students, but the community as a whole, Chapman pointed out.