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Urban Kyle, Texasis one of the fastest growing municipalities in the United States, but despite efforts, its water supply is struggling to keep up with its booming population.
Kyle is located between Austin and San Antonio and has seen its population grow rapidly in recent decades, from 5,314 in 2000 to 62,500 by 2023. The rapid population growth, combined with drought and high temperatures, has made water resources at a premium, forcing Kyle to purchase water from neighboring San Marcos to meet growing demand.
“It's a combination of factors,” Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell said in an interview with FOX Business. “Climate change is causing more heat and drought. Droughts are becoming longer and more frequent. That's one thing. The second thing is general growth. More homes, more people, more yards, more irrigation systems, and that's lowering the aquifer levels.”
Mitchell said the city Water shortage At issue are delays to a new pipeline bringing water to Kyle from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, which is scheduled to start operating early next year, but the city's growth itself has contributed to the delays.
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A new water pipeline is set to deliver water from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer to Kyle, Texas, but the project has faced delays. (Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Alliance Water executive director Graham Moore told FOX Business there are a few reasons for the project's delay.
“There are some equipment-specific delays as supplies of some of the equipment, especially the water treatment plant, have been tight since the pandemic ended,” Moore said. He added that with development in Kyle moving so quickly, it took a “tremendous amount of time” to secure the easements and title necessary to get the pipeline to the city.
Moore said Alliance Water's plan is to expand the project to provide sponsors with water from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer for 50 years. The aquifer recharges when storms bring rain to the region, but it responds slowly to changes in pumping and water levels, Moore noted. Aquifer Recharge Its vast area contrasts with the nearby Edwards Aquifer, which responds quickly to drought and rainfall.
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The Alliance Water Project is sponsored by communities like Kyle, Moore noted, encouraging a more collaborative approach. Water Resource Management In that area.
“Because all these entities came together to develop a collaborative project, there were several accomplishments,” he explained. “It gave us greater economies of scale and made it more affordable for all entities. But perhaps just as importantly, it allowed water to be shared among sponsors who had a little bit of excess water until the new sources were up and running and contracts were signed. For example, San Marcos can provide water to Kyle until Carrizo Water is up and running.”
High temperatures and extended drought are not only making water resources more scarce, but also making Texas more vulnerable to wildfires and flash floods. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Robert Mace, executive director of the Meadows Water Environment Center and a professor at Texas State University, told FOX Business that the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer could serve as a water supply for the region in the long term, but that if the region continues to grow, the aquifer's supply could be in trouble in 10 to 20 years.
“The aquifer isn't going to dry up,” Mace explained, “but what I'm saying is that wells start to interfere with each other, and your well might be fine, but if all your neighbors have wells, they're also going to be drawing water from the aquifer, and you might not be able to draw as much as you used to.”
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“Long term, we see Carrizo-Wilcox as a bridge to desalination, which is expensive, but not prohibitively expensive,” Mace said, noting that Corpus Christi is developing a desalination plant in the area and that discussions are underway on a similar project. Houston Area.
“In the future, it could reach all the way from the Gulf of Mexico into Central Texas,” Mace said, adding that while it's not currently included in Texas' water resource planning, “that could change quickly with rising temperatures and increased drought.”
“It's not a silver bullet, it's a silver shotgun, as far as long-term and short-term solutions to our water issues go,” Mace said. He noted that some communities in the region are considering returning water to wastewater treatment plants for other uses, such as drinking water. Mace also pointed to other water-saving measures, such as reducing water use for landscaping and using rainwater and condensation from air conditioners for outdoor use and for flushing toilets.
The population of Kyle, Texas, has soared from just over 5,000 in 2000 to more than 62,500 in 2023. (Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Mitchell echoed similar sentiments about the city's efforts to explore different solutions to Kyle's water shortage as the Carrizo Pipeline nears its opening.
“It's really important that the city doesn't simply think, 'this project is going to solve all our problems in the long run,' because it's not,” the mayor said. “It's really important for all of the different municipalities and jurisdictions that are putting straw into the Carrizo River to understand that this is just part of the process. More than anything, we need to change the way we think about water. Water is not an infinite resource. It's a precious thing, and we need to use it as something that's not just regenerated.”
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Mitchell said the city of Kyle recently revised its landscaping ordinance to place more emphasis on artificial turf and natural plantings. New developments Planting drought-tolerant landscaping plants is required, and the city is developing programs to encourage lawn restructuring to reduce the need for irrigation.
The city is also considering installing new plants at its water and wastewater treatment plants to return treated water to drinking water levels so it can be reused, as well as for desalinization and groundwater storage.
“We're working hard to increase supply and at the same time rebuild demand and put programs in place to do that,” Mitchell said. “While the new water supply from the Carrizo River is very important, it's not the only way we can increase water supplies.”
