KYLE — At the May 7 meeting, Kyle City Council approved a resolution for an interlocal water-sharing agreement with the city of San Marcos, marking the third agreement within the past two years. In October 2022, Kyle entered into negotiations with San Marcos to receive up to 125 acre-feet, or 40.7 million gallons, of water throughout the remainder of the year. The second followed a year later in October 2023, when Kyle City Council unanimously approved to gain access to San Marcos’ water permit to prevent exceeding its own maximum. According to agenda documents, both cities possess Edward’s Aquifer Authority (EAA) permits and “due to the ongoing historical drought that Central Texas is currently facing, Kyle anticipates the need for additional water during calendar years 2024, 2025 and 2026.” The proposed agreement would stretch from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 each year and prevent Kyle from overpumping its permitted capacity, according to Mike Murphy, director of water utilities for the city of Kyle. He continued by stating that San Marcos has supplies beyond its current needs, so it is willing to make water available for Kyle using its existing water within the EAA permits. The agreement lists the following: • Water will be withdrawn solely at Kyle’s existing EAA Well Numbers W100-896, W100-897, W100-898 and W105-960 • The maximum amount that may be pumped is 500 acre-feet per calendar year • Kyle will meet or exceed San Marcos’ drought restrictions • The 500 acre-feet will be subject to EAA drought stage restrictions and Kyle will be responsible for any penalties By approving this agreement, Kyle will pay $22,832 per month to the city of San Marcos, which is equivalent to 223,186 gallons per day charged at a rate of $3.41 per 1,000 gallons. Withdrawal rates exceeding 6,695,580 gallons per month will be charged at a rate of $3.41 per 1,000 gallons. “Edward’s Aquifer Authority’s allocations were based on the need for these communities a number of years ago,” said council member Lauralee Harris. “Those have not changed in recent years, so what has happened is San Marcos has not grown as quickly as they were anticipated to grow and we have grown much more quickly than we were anticipated to grow. So, [the percentages needed] have changed, but EAA has not changed that percentage of allocation, which puts us into a position of needing to work with our partner in Hays County, which is San Marcos, to acquire the right percentages of water. So, it’s not like we’re out of water or that the aquifer is out of water; it’s a matter of just collaborating and adjusting those percentages to what is equitable.” Prior to the vote, council member Miguel Zuniga stated that he is in support of the item, but he still believes that water reuse and recycling should still be a top priority for the city, despite the water they will be receiving. The item passed unanimously. Kyle City Council will meet again on May 22.
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