Georgetown, the nation's fastest-growing city, is staring down the barrel of a potentially parched future. A report indicates that if the city doesn't secure a new water source by 2030, it'll be high and dry without enough H2O for its swelling population. Clocking in at over 86,000 residents last year, that's a stark climb from 2021's count of over 75,000 folks - about a 14% jump, according to KVUE.
Georgetown typically relies heavily on the lakes like Georgetown, Stillhouse, and Belton for its water. They also tap into Lake Travis and pull groundwater from the Edwards Aquifer to keep the taps flowing. However, an alarming update in the report suggests that the previous estimate, which had residents' water needs covered until around 2043, is sadly outdated, as per KUT.
Responding with urgency, the city has inked a deal with EPCOR to reserve 55 million gallons of water from Robertson County, aiming to bolster its supply. On top of that, Georgetown is beefing up its water infrastructure with the ongoing expansion of the North Lake Water Treatment Plant and the construction of a new South Lake Water Treatment Plant, expecting to add 52 million gallons of water to its reserves, as reported by KVUE.
In an interview obtained by KUT, Jonathan Moore, a local and self-proclaimed "avid vegetable gardener," shared his concerns over the city's water woes. "Kind of a strange thing, you know, if we’re already restricted to watering on certain days of the week, and there’s more and more houses being built, but the capacity isn’t coming online very fast," he reflected.
