RESTRICTIONS WATER
STAGE 1
STAGE 2
STAGE 3
STAGE 4
Watering with a sprinkler or irrigation system is limited to one day per week.
Same as stage 1 but with time of day restrictions on watering with a hand-held hose.
Watering with a sprinkler or irrigation system is limited to one day every other week.
New Braunfels Utilities will determine all watering activity guidelines.
Local utility companies have enforced water restrictions to address the ongoing drought. New Braunfels Utilities provides water to the majority of the city. The Edwards Aquifer Authority regulates the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the aquifer.
EDWARDS AQUIFER
Watering with a sprinkler or irrigation system is allowed one day per week biweekly based on the last digit of one’s address. It must occur before 10:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m.
NEW BRAUNFELS UTILITIES
On Aug. 19, the EAA declared Stage 3 of the Critical Period Management Plan, which enforces a 35% reduction on permit holders pumping water out of the aquifer.
0 or 1 MON.
2 or 3 TUE.
4 or 5 WED.
6 or 7 THU.
8 or 9 FRI.
SOURCES: EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY, NEW BRAUNFELS UTILITIES COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
LOW IN THE FLOW When the Edwards Aquifer water levels decrease, water pressure within the aquifer also decreases. That means less water moves through the springs causing them to decrease in ow rate and output. Water that is in motion is measured in cubic feet per second, or cfs. Current ow rate CFS Average CFS
Enders said. NBU o cials partnered with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority in August 2019 to establish the One Water team, which identi es ways to pre- serve local water resources while the area experiences explosive growth. According to NBU, its source of water has also diversi ed over the years. In 1985, 100% of the city’s water supply was from the Edwards Aquifer. In 2022, 18% of NBU’s water supply is from the Edwards Aquifer, with the GBRA Canyon Reservoir and Trinity Aquifer among other sources being utilized. “[Some local] major users are not solely or wholly dependent on the Edwards [Aquifer]. They’ve expanded their water holdings, and it gives them greater latitude during times of drought like this to have more tools available to manage their various water resources,” Ruiz said. The EAA and NBU are develop- ing an aquifer storage and recovery project inside the Edwards Aquifer, which was passed through the Texas As of August 23 ows at Comal Springs are at about 117 cubic feet per second when the long-term average ow is about 290 cfs, or about one- third of the average, according to Chad Norris, deputy executive man- ager of environmental science for the GBRA. Cfs is used to measure the pressure and motion of water. The EAA declared Stage 4 of its Criti- cal Period Management Plan to enforce permit reductions to the San Antonio region for the rst time since 2014 on Aug. 13. The CPM went back to Stage 3 on Aug. 19 due to rainfall. The plan is put in place to help sustain aquifer and spring ow levels during times of drought by temporarily reducing the authorized withdrawal amounts of Edwards Aquifer permit holders, which includes utility companies. In Stage 4 of the plan, permit hold- ers in Comal and Guadalupe counties must reduce their annual authorized Legislature in May 2019. Water conservation plans
pumping by 40%, and 35% in Stage 3. Norris, who is a member of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conserva- tion Plan Science Committee, said that when drought conditions are per- sistent or spring ows reach a lower output, certain measures of the con- servation plan are implemented. “Some of those measures involve using alternative water sources, reducing reliance on the [Edwards Aquifer] itself,” Norris said. “And those are all designed to maintain spring ows and make sure that they don’t get below a threshold that we have identi ed as needed to reduce the impacts to [aquatic] species.” The Comal and San Marcos springs help maintain base ows and are the two major springs that use the Edwards Aquifer and are tributaries to the Guadalupe River system. “When we get into these drought conditions, and you don’t have rainfall driving stream ow, most, if not all, of the stream ow we see is derived from aquifers or released from lakes,” Nor- ris said. Norris said he expects some of the bigger impacts of the drought to be in the smaller tributaries in Texas that do not have springs to provide base ows. “We have plans like the Edwards Aquifer HCP. Water providers have drought contingency plans; municipal- ities and others have drought measures that they take to reduce water use,” Norris said.”I feel like in general, we are prepared and not unaccustomed to WATER SUPPLY DIVERSIFICATION
JULY 2021
JULY 2022
256 CFS
256 CFS
291 CFS
114 CFS
SOURCES: EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
o cials said. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, on June 1 Texas crops of wheat were down 57% compared to 2021. Shane Wolf, general manager and public relations director for Rockin’ R River Rides, said that the operations at locations on the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers have not been a ected by this year’s drought. Due to the heat, Wolf said people are eager to cool o . “The heat this year, as we’re all aware of, has actually probably o set any decline that we would have had due to the low ows,” Wolf said. “Good news is that we’ve got better ows than prob- ably any other river at all in the state.”
droughts like we’re experiencing now. But with every drought, you’re always just waiting for the next rainfall.” Economic impact According to the NIDIS, Comal and Guadalupe counties are currently in an exceptional drought, the high- est category of intensity for drought conditions. Widespread crop loss has been reported, and agricultural pro- ducers are not planting their elds. “Not only is water in demand, but it’s increasingly di cult for the irrigation agricultural producers to just simply have enough water to keep water on their crops to remain viable,” Ruiz said. Portions of the seafood, forestry, tourism and agriculture economic sectors in the region have reported signi cant nancial loss, NIDIS
For more information, visit communityimpact.com.
9% 5% 2%
Edwards Aquifer
13%
14%
Run of river
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Canyon Reservoir
14%
32%
23%
Over the years New Braunfels Utilities has begun diversifying where it receives its water supply. This allows for additional sources of water and provides more options for the utility company during times of drought.
16%
City of Seguin GBRA Gonzales Carrizo Water Supply Project Trinity Aquifer Green Valley Special Utility District
41%
18%
33%
31%
33% 2015
1985 100% 45% 1995
35% 2005
36% 2022
SOURCE: NEW BRAUNFELS UTILITIES COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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NEW BRAUNFELS EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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