AUSTIN, Texas — Georgetown appears to be on the verge of not having enough water for the entire city, according to a report from KUT.
According to a recent city-commissioned report, Georgetown is on pace to face water supply shortages by 2030 if it doesn't find a new water source. However, city leaders have been working on several plans to address water concerns caused by Georgetown's booming population.
In 2023, the city signed a two-year agreement with water utility company EPCOR to reserve up to 55 million gallons of water from Robertson County, as well as rehabilitating the existing North Lake Water Treatment Plant which is scheduled to be completed soon.
City leaders say the contract with EPCOR would provide enough water to meet Georgetown's needs through 2050. They're currently negotiating a long-term water supply agreement with EPCOR that is expected to be finalized by 2025. The agreement would provide enough time to build the infrastructure needed to transport and treat groundwater from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Robertson County before 2030.
RELATED: More Central Texas communities are looking at reclaimed water to meet increasing water demand
"Without a water supply deal with EPCOR, the City would need to look at other short and long-term supply options," Georgetown officials said in a statement on Feb. 29. "Projections concerning water supply and demand have not changed since the IWRP was publicly released and posted on the City’s website in May 2023."
The KVUE Defenders have also been looking into how communities are addressing water scarcity and planning for the future. What they found was more cities are turning to reclaimed water, or treated city wastewater, for non-drinking and drinking purposes.
Georgetown's water district serves customers outside city limits, with service extending into Bell and Burnet counties. In all, it has 57,000 service connections, with an average of about 5,000 new connections every year.
To relieve some of that demand, the city uses reclaimed water, or treated city wastewater, for non-drinking purposes. Georgetown is doing that for all six of its golf courses, plus some parks and other green spaces.
Georgetown is the fastest growing city in the U.S., according to the most recent census. It registered more than 86,500 residents in 2022, up from more than 75,000 people in 2021, translating to around a 14% increase.
The majority of Georgetown's water supply comes from Lake Georgetown, Lake Stillhouse and Lake Belton, but the city also receives some of its supply from Lake Travis and groundwater reserves from the Edwards Aquifer. The city is also building the new South Lake Water Treatment Plant, with the first phase expected to be finished by summer 2025, and the second phase coming online in 2026. The latter two projects will eventually add 52 million gallons of water.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.