Water Reuse in the Hill Country: Analyzing Opportunities in Comal County, Texas

New Report released by GEAA’s Policy Director Rachel Hanes. September 2023

The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance is excited to be releasing a report outlining the opportunities present in the Texas Hill Country to use recycled water to alleviate the burdens placed on the Edwards and Trinity Aquifers by focusing on the present and (hopeful) future state of recycled water use in Comal County. Water reuse – using reclaimed and treated wastewater – is an integral step in ensuring that counties in the Hill Country will have the water supplies they need to ensure the health, safety, and quality of life of residents in the years to come. 

The status of water reuse in Comal County underscores both the long way Hill Country counties have to go in implementing water reuse systems and the unique opportunities present to do so within their boundaries.

Based on our findings in the report, GEAA recommends that, in preparation for the 2025 Legislative Session, the Texas House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee conduct an interim study for the creation of wastewater reuse districts for irrigation use in the fast-growing areas of Comal County and the Texas Hill Country and for industrial use at sites such as aggregate production operations. The study should analyze the possibility of implementing multiple water reuse districts with flexible boundaries throughout the study area, given variations at different locations in the volume of potential reuse water generation and the need for that water.

As evidenced by the state of water reuse in Comal County, this source of water is a vastly underutilized tool in the fight to manage the Hill Country’s water supplies in the face of prolonged drought and presents a clear opportunity to better preserve our natural resources for the generations to come.

You can view the press conference presentation here.

You can view the full report here.

A summary of the report is available here.

MEDIA COVERAGE:

Texas Public Radio-Texas Matters: DPS delays Uvalde firing, Hill Country water saver and Texas book ban By: David Martin Davies Published October 1, 2023 at 2:14 PM CDT

Fox 7 Austin- Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance highlights more opportunities for water reuse: report
By Carissa Lehmkuhl Published September 27, 2023 6:00PM