New Braunfels City Council approved sweeping updates to the city's Drought Contingency Plan on September 28, and the new rules, which took effect October 1, sharply raise the financial penalty for heavy water users during severe drought. Under the revised plan, surcharges in the harshest conservation stages jump to $4.89 per thousand gallons, while customers who stick to normal household water use are not charged at all.
The plan, covered by Community Impact Newspaper, folds in stricter outdoor watering limits as drought conditions worsen and clearer water-use reduction goals for each stage. It also introduces drought surcharges spanning Conservation Stages 3, 4 and 5, with New Braunfels Utilities customers charged once their usage crosses specific thresholds, according to the release. Those thresholds are aligned with NBU's existing water-use tiers, a change the utility says is meant to sharpen conservation incentives for customers using significant amounts of water.
How the New Surcharges Break Down
Under the September update, severe drought surcharges jumped from the previous $1.00 and $2.00 per thousand gallons up to $4.18 per thousand gallons in Stage 3 and $4.89 per thousand gallons in Stages 4 and 5, according to documents reviewed from a New Braunfels Utilities meeting packet. The plan also aligned usage thresholds with NBU's existing water-use tiers. Per the Community Impact report, customers face a surcharge in Stages 3 through 5 once monthly use tops 6,000 gallons, with Stage 3 charging $4.18 per thousand gallons above that mark and Stage 5 applying $4.89 per thousand gallons to all irrigation water use.
Commercial surcharges apply specifically to irrigation meters and do not touch separate domestic meters used for normal business operations, per the release. Commercial irrigation use that stays below the applicable threshold draws no surcharge at all. NBU customers can track their monthly water use through the utility's customer portal and set thresholds for text alerts as usage nears established limits.
Why NBU Says This Isn't a Rate Hike
NBU officials are careful to distinguish the surcharges from the utility's regular water rates. Reagan Peña, NBU's director of enterprise communications, explained the rationale in an email cited by Community Impact, saying the surcharge maintains financial stability because revenue declines as water use declines while water-system operating and maintenance costs remain constant. The utility says the surcharge does not generate profit and is designed to end once drought conditions improve.
The update also set trigger levels for Conservation Stages 4 and 5, which were already part of the plan but whose trigger levels had not been set in stone, according to the same meeting packet. The changes come as New Braunfels has already been under Stage 2 restrictions since August 10, which limit landscape sprinkler irrigation to once weekly before 10 a.m. or after 8 p.m. based on street address digits, per New Braunfels Utilities.
The Hydrogeology Behind the Triggers
Every drought stage in New Braunfels hinges on hard numbers from underground. The utility's criteria use a 10-day rolling average for aquifer readings. Stage 1 triggers at 660 feet above mean sea level or 225 cubic feet per second, and Stage 2 at 650 feet or 200 cfs, the utility's conservation stage page states. Stage 4 triggers at 630 feet or 100 cfs, and Stage 5 at 625 feet or 45 cfs. Hoodline reported in April on concerns about habitat for threatened aquatic species amid a period when Comal Springs ran alarmingly low.
The state isn't leaving these updates optional. Under Title 30, Section 288.20 of the Texas Administrative Code and Texas Water Code Section 11.1272, retail public water suppliers with 3,300 or more connections must review, revise and resubmit their Drought Contingency Plans to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality every five years. Regional pressure has only intensified the urgency: in May 2025, the Edwards Aquifer Authority declared Stage 5 Critical Period Management restrictions for the first time in its history, forcing groundwater permit holders, including municipal utilities, to cut Edwards Aquifer pumping by 44 percent, according to KSAT.
Diversified Supply, Still Tied to Aquifer Metrics
New Braunfels Utilities began providing water service in 1959, with the Edwards Aquifer as its first water source. Even so, the drought stage triggers that dictate surcharges and watering restrictions remain legally tied to aquifer levels and spring discharge.
That tension between a diversified long-term supply and short-term regulatory triggers has shaped local politics too. Water availability and growth constraints were central issues in the city's May 2026 mayoral election, where candidate Michael French campaigned on limiting development over concerns about a long-term water supply deficit before advancing to a runoff, as Hoodline reported at the time.
Infrastructure Investment Continues Alongside Conservation
Even as the utility tightens penalties for heavy irrigators, it's simultaneously expanding its treatment capacity. NBU's $81 million five-year capital investment will expand the Gruene Water Reclamation Facility, nearly doubling its wastewater treatment capacity from 2.5 million to 4.9 million gallons per day. The dual approach, stricter surcharges paired with major capital spending, reflects the balancing act facing a utility managing rapid growth along the I-35 corridor while keeping its drought response tethered to aquifer and spring conditions that can shift quickly.
