The Hays County Commissioners Court approved a professional services agreement to launch a countywide water study to assess conditions and plan sustainability efforts.
HDR Engineering Inc. will conduct the county’s first water analysis since 2011. The study began on Jan. 20 and is expected to take about 11 months to complete, costing up to $542,360. The study will evaluate water supply, wastewater management and flood risks.
Rapid population growth remains one of Hays County’s biggest water challenges, with projections from the Texas Demographic Center showing the county’s population increasing from about 157,000 residents in 2015 to more than 255,000 in 2023 and is projected to surpass 400,000 by 2045.
Robert Mace, executive director of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, said limited local water supplies make rapid population growth challenging for the county.
“It wouldn’t be a challenge if we had lots of water, but we don’t have a lot of water locally,” Mace said. “As a county, we’ve already been bringing in water, and adding more people only increases the need to find and import additional water, which is costly and can be politically difficult.”
HDR Engineers’ study will be broad while focusing on forward looking areas like; water supply planning, wastewater effluent management, localized flood planning and existing water regulations, according to Community Impact.
Roughly 75% of the city’s water supply is derived from Canyon Lake, according to the city of San Marcos. City data also showed that the reservoir is at a level of 893.07 feet and is 70% below capacity due to extreme drought conditions, and provides an even larger share during drought as groundwater pumping limits help maintain river flow.
Jason Julian, a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, said groundwater pumping restrictions are intended to help maintain river flow during drought.
“In terms of what’s happening to the river, those restrictions are used to help maintain flow in the river so that it doesn’t decline too much. I mean, during a drought like this, the flows in the river are going to continue to decline,” Julian said.
The study will also include the four county precincts will go through flooding assessments, with a focused evaluation of centralized sewer options for the Hillside terrance neighborhood, a density area facing flooding and aging septic system concerns, according to Community Impact.
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said county officials are taking an an unusual approach by pushing water policy updates ahead of the county’s typical legal and policy review process because of the urgency of water resource concerns.
“It’s a very unconventional approach that I am taking,” Becerra said. “My aim is to convey the sense of urgency, the dire need for us to update our policies, to keep up with the assault of our resources, and I want my government to support it.”
Becerra said community involvement is key to moving policy forward in county government. He said public engagement can help bring attention to local issues beyond the county level and strengthen the judge’s influence on decisions when residents show strong support.
“I am going to challenge. I am going to pounce, and I need every single beating heart that will stand up with me so that we can create the biggest ripple possible so we can get that awareness all the way to the state level at the Capitol so that we can affect change, because without you, I’m just one loon,” Becerra said. “But with the community behind me, I am most impactful.”
Becerra said he plans to convene a water summit in the coming weeks to bring together major water providers. The summit will assess current customer bases, capacity and long-term water needs over the next 5, 10 and 20 years to create a countywide roadmap for sustainable water use. He said a small number of large industrial users consume tens of millions of gallons of water each, which he argues puts pressure on limited local supplies.
“Six large industrial users are each using 10’s of millions of gallons of water each, we can’t hold it. It’s going to be them, or it’s going to be us. As your county judge, I’ll make sure I fight to the end to make sure we are the ones that are left standing,” Becerra said.
When the water study collects the updated data, it will combine it with the previous data to help guide county officials to support growth and maintain a sustainable water resources.
