Georgetown Edition | February 2025

BY ANNA MANESS

Where’s water?

Going forward

Zooming out

While two aquifers are partially under Williamson County, ownership rights, the volume

Georgetown ocials are not alone in their eorts to prioritize long-term water needs. During Gov. Greg Abbott’s State of the State address Feb. 2, he named water infrastructure investments as an emergency item this legislative session. Abbott discussed a plan to make a one-time investment and subsequently send $1 billion per year to the 2023 voter-approved Texas Water Fund. The plan will help Texas tap into new water suppliers and repair old pipelines, according to state documents. Fixing leaky or broken pipes will save billions of gallons of water per year, Abbott said Feb. 2. “Upgrading infrastructure will be a signicant part of saving a lot of water,” said Jaclyn Wise, pub- lic relations and education coordinator at Post Oak Savannah GCD, which also manages a portion of the Simsboro Aquifer in Milam and Burleson counties. At a Dec. 12 Austin Chamber panel, Rep. Caroline Harris Davila said some cities in her Williamson County district have 100-year-old water pipes.

City Council is expected to give nal approval to the GateHouse contract by this summer, Brewer said. An update on the Recharge Water negotiation is expected in late 2025, and the city continues to work on the EPCOR agreement. To diversify the city’s long-term water supply, ocials are also looking into aquifer storage and recovery projects, water conservation eorts, and recycled water, per city documents. Totten said he believes water usage patterns over the last 20-30 years are unsustainable.

of it and its salty nature lead local municipalities to look elsewhere.

Edwards Aquifer Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer

Williamson County

SOURCE: TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

When asked during a Jan. 23 luncheon what keeps him up more at night—water or roads— Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder said he’s more concerned about planning for water since it’s a nite resource.

We need a cultural change on how we view and value water. JIM TOTTEN, LOST PINES GCD GENERAL MANAGER

GEORGETOWN EDITION