SPICEWOOD BEACH, Texas -- About five times a day, the same scene plays out in Spicewood Beach. Tanker trucks haul in water to replenish what little is left in the community’s well.
Residents are concerned it’s a situation that could have been avoided had the agency responsible for the water not sold it.
In a statement emailed to KVUE News, the LCRA confirmed that it sold Spicewood Beach’s water to at least two businessmen who buy and distribute water. The first was Larry Ogden, who last year bought 3.5 million gallons from Spicewood Beach and another LCRA source. The second was Hank Cantu, who purchased 1.3 million gallons from the Spicewood system.
It all happened with the LCRA’s blessing and while the agency was enforcing Stage 2 restrictions in Spicewood Beach.
On Thursday residents were confounded to learn that their water had been sold while they conserved.
“We always had water down at that well,” resident Johnny Smith said. “Even in the worst droughts, we always had water.”
The LCRA stopped selling water to commercial customers in early January, just before it stepped up restrictions from Stage 2 to Stage 3.
Now at Stage 4, despite nearly a foot of rain, the situation only seems to be getting worse. More than 1,000 residents must now observe a boil notice, and they include the students at Spicewood Elementary School.
On Thursday, LCRA Spokeswoman Clara Tuma clarified that the water for Spicewood Beach now comes from a neighborhood known as Capstone Ranch, which is between Marble Falls and Spicewood Beach.
The agency maintains it will not pass on the cost of hauling water to residents, who are now skeptical.
