In an unprecedented move, the Wimberley Water Supply Corporation has moved into Stage Four water restrictions, eliminating all outside water use.
The decision was voted on by the WWSC Board of Directors at their monthly meeting on July 24. They attributed the move to a significant and continued drop in well levels throughout the Wimberley Valley, which qualifies for Stage Four of the WWSC’s drought contingency plan under “unforeseen events which could cause imminent health or safety risks to the public.” According to data collected by the WWSC, four of its six monitoring wells within the Middle Trinity Aquifer are at historic lows and continue to drop at an alarming rate.
Restrictions at Stage Four, also referred to by the WWSC as “Emergency Demand Management,” are explained in the contingency plan under two bullet points: “All outside water use is prohibited,” and, “[WWSC] may adopt and enforce any or all additional measures to reduce water demand as needed to protect water supplies and human health safety.”
Unlike the stages of water restrictions preceding it, Stage Four does not put forward any sort of watering schedule or restrictions; outdoor watering and irrigation is banned in its entirety. This is the first time the WWSC has had to resort to this level of restrictions, according to General Manager Garrett Allen.
“No one wants to lose plants. But we also don’t want to reach the point where we can’t flush toilets,” he explained. The WWSC echoed a similar sentiment on its website.
“WWSC fully understands that these restrictions may come as an inconvenience and result in future expenses,” the corporation said in a statement. “However, WWSC has an obligation to protect and conserve the groundwater supply of its members/customers… Please understand that these restrictions also have a direct impact on the corporation as well.”
Allen partly attributed the severe drop in well levels to high temperatures and low precipitation. Temperatures in the Wimberley Valley reached as high as 109 degrees Fahrenheit in the last two weeks, according to local weather expert Raymond Schiflett. As a result, the lack of rain has been especially grueling on groundwater reserves, Allen said.
“I’ve lived in Wimberley my entire life and been employed at WWSC for over 35 years and I’ve never seen our well levels this low,” he commented. “Nor have I seen the levels drop this quickly.”
In the past 10 days, four of six wells dropped an average of eight feet. In the past 24 days, the wells dropped an average of 16.5 feet. Three of the wells are at or near record lows, according to WWSC data.
Hot, dry conditions are not the only factors to blame though, Allen said. Increases in development, population and tourism in the Hill Country area have spread thin already strained water resources.
“The Middle Trinity Aquifer, which we draw from, gets its recharge from western counties within the Guadalupe River Basin,” Allen explained. “But with growth and development increasing out west, there are more straws taking the water before it reaches us [Wimberley].”
Year after year, regardless of weather conditions and precipitation levels, it is this growth and development that has steadily depleted aquifer reserves, he said.
“The aquifer levels keep dropping,” Allen said. “Even if a hurricane sat over us for a day or two, it still wouldn’t get us to where we need to be.”
The WWSC looked into using surface water to help supplement its water supply, but the process was deemed too time-consuming for the nonprofit and costly for its customers. The corporation is currently considering a moratorium on new connections to its system, should conditions not improve.
Allen said he expects Stage Four to last for at least the next 45 days. Prior to moving into this stage, the WWSC had been in Stage Three since August of 2022. The WWSC has been in some sort of drought contingency stage (One, Two or Three) since 2019.
While outside watering is not allowed, the WWSC encourages its customers to consider landscaping alternatives, such as “xeriscape”: a style of landscape design requiring little or no irrigation or maintenance. Rainwater collection is also encouraged as an alternative to traditional watering methods.
“Everybody in the Wimberley Valley has to get involved,” Allen said. “We can’t do it by ourselves, and we are so thankful to all of our customers that take this seriously and follow the guidelines. But it’s not going to be like it used to be.”
Restriction signs reside below the burn ban signs entering Wimberley on RR12 North and South, FM 2325 and FM 3237. WWSC will also place multiple signs throughout its service area providing notice of restriction. Restriction notices will also be placed on customer bills, the WWSC website and Facebook. For questions or concerns, contact the WWSC office at (512) 847-2323.
