Facing offline water plant and ongoing drought, Blanco takes steps to ensure water supply (2024)

BLANCO, Texas — Tens of thousands of gallons of water are lost or unaccounted for every day in the city of Blanco, located about 40 miles west of Austin.

Aging water infrastructure is to blame, which is why City leadersvoted in mid-September to replace all the water meters in town. Blanco also approved a new agreementin late September with its water supplier that's expected to secure delivery service.

On Wednesday, the City released an expanded statement regarding the new deal withTexas Water Company. It included new details like setting "objective standards for the city to pump up to 500,000 gallons every day," once a device is installed to allow regulating the flow rate. You can read more here.

But a water expert told theKVUE Defenders concern remains about having enough water for the future, especially with population growth in the Hill Country, Austin and San Antonio, as well as the ongoing drought – issues the KVUE Defenders investigated in November of 2022.

TheReal Ale Brewerynear Downtown Blanco was directly impacted by the water crisis in July.Itproduces thousands of gallons of handcrafted beer daily for its taproom and for stores across the state – an effort that requires 22,000 gallons of water a day.

Brad Farbstein is the owner.

"For us, it's pretty significant, you know, because beer is 92% water. So, it's important part of the brewing process. In addition, you know, we use water for cleaning and preparing for the brews. So we can't really operate without water. We have a lot of automated systems too that just don't operate without having the utilities connected to them," Farbstein said.

But for the first time in the brewery's 27 years, Real Ale had to go without water in July, as Blanco was quickly running out.

"We shut down the brewing, packaging and distilling operations," Farbstein said.

The City asked Real Ale and another business to shut down operations for a weekendas residents enteredStage 6,the highest level of emergency water restrictions.That meant indoor water use only.

"The Texas Hill Country is an interesting place water-wise. It's a lot like Swiss cheese. There are places that there's no groundwater," Blanco Mayor Mike Arnold said.

Arnold previously said Blanco's water supplier experienced a small pipe break in its system,which stopped water delivery to the city.He had also said the break came at a time when Texas Water Company was struggling to meet demand for the area.

"There was an issue with their getting water to our tank, and so I got news early in the morning that July day that our holding tank was empty," Arnold said.

It led the City to send alegal demandto Texas Water Company, asking it to store more water for Blanco and accusing it of prioritizing delivery to other customers over Blanco.

"We would have been out of water in 24 hours," Arnold said.

Right now, Blanco is in Stage 3 drought restrictions, allowing outdoor watering once a week.

On top of that,Arnold said there are two persistent problems affecting the city's water supply. Oneis easy to see, as parts of the Blanco River are completely dry. Also, Canyon Lake, a water source for Blanco, is 65% full as of Oct. 4, according to theTexas Water Development Board.It was 85% full a year ago.

Nevertheless, Arnold is hopeful after the recent agreement with Texas Water Company.

"Very confident that that supply is secure," Arnold said.

The mayor pointed to other actions that will help secure the city's water supply in the future.In mid-September, Blanco leaders approved a project that would replace all 1,200 water meters in town. Arnold said the current water meters are so outdated, they're the main reason the city is losing 28% of water every month.He estimates that's about 90,000 gallons a day.

Compare to how much the city uses a day, on average 320,000 gallons, and you get a better idea of how significant that monthly water loss is. The new electronic meters would help eliminate leakage and undercounting.

"It gets worse over time," Arnold said.

Blanco is not alone. The KVUE Defenders investigated how another small Central Texas community is struggling with a deteriorating water system:

Crews are expected to tear up Ninth Street in the coming weeks as the City prepares to replace all the old water and sewer lines. It'splanning to install the purple pipe system as well, allowing the community to use reclaimed water.

But even with those efforts, Jenna Walker said it's not enough.

"So, everyone here is reeling with low, low water supply as it is," Walker said.

Like the rest of the state, population growth is one of the main factors impacting the water supply in Blanco.

"Here in the Texas Hill Country, we don't see that stopping any time soon. We expect population to double in the next 30 years or so," Walker said.

She said growth from Austin and San Antonio is also cutting into Blanco's water supply, so water planning for the future needs to includethinking out of the box.

"Not just planning for the next 10 or 15 years or even the next generation, but the next 100 years … so not just pulling water from the ground or from our rivers for supply, but also taking it from the sky, incorporating more rainwater catchment systems and also more reuse systems, not only to water our grass but to be for households and forindustry as well," Walker said.

Back at Real Ale, Farbstein said July's temporary shutdown didn't have a lasting impact on his business. But he knows it won't be the last time his community will face water challenges.

"The reality of it is, in the Hill Country, that water is a very scarce natural resource," Farbstein said.

Although theTexas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)lists Blanco under an emergency priority water use, which means it could run out of water in 45 days or less, Mayor Arnold said that's misleading. He said the listing is the result of the July water shortage, which has been resolved.