Burnet’s water system ready for growth
After years of analysis, Burnet’s water system looks to be robust enough to handle current and future residents. More work will be needed, depending on the direction the city’s growth takes, but leaders hope to responsibly manage development as it happens.
According to Burnet City Manager David Vaughn, understanding the capabilities and capacities of the city’s water system has been of paramount importance in recent years. By the numbers, it is holding strong.
“We’ve been working on getting water engineering water models in place for years,” he told DailyTrib.com. “We are in a great position on our water supply, but that doesn’t mean we can sit back fat and happy.”
Burnet currently uses about 4,600 living unit equivalents of water, but it has the infrastructure to handle about 7,600 LUEs. A living unit equivalent, a common measurement used in city planning, refers to roughly the amount of water used in a single-family home occupied by 3.5 people.
The city has enough wiggle room with its LUE numbers that new homes and businesses won’t put much additional strain on the system.
The work leading up to this current surplus comes at a cost. Burnet residents are seeing a sizable bump in their utility rates. In May, the City Council voted to implement a 20-percent rate increase in two phases for water and sewer, which have gone unchanged since 2011 and 2012, respectively. The first phase kicked in on June 1; the second will hit on Oct. 1.
ONLINE: See current and future rates on the city of Burnet website.
“On one hand, it sounds great to say, ‘We haven’t had a rate increase since 2011,’ but then that means seeing a big 20-percent increase all at once,” Vaughn said. “I think, at this point, that we will likely have gradual rate increases over time.”
Burnet also has access to enough water to fuel growth and development in the long term. Between its firm water contract with the Lower Colorado River Authority and permits with the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District, the city can support up to 15,965 LUEs, over triple its current usage.
While the city has the capacity to fuel more development, Vaughn said it won’t be growth for growth’s sake.
“You have to manage with the idea that protecting your water supply is paramount,” he said. “If you’re bringing in 1,000 homes, that is a big hit on the supply. When people come in, we want it to benefit the community and not just the developer who owns the land. We are promoting responsible growth, not growth at any cost. I think that is what we are hearing from the community.”
Conservation also remains at the forefront of city planning. While the Highland Lakes are full from recent rains and the groundwater drought stage has been reduced, Burnet is still thinking about tomorrow.
“Our water is worth a fortune; the future of Burnet’s growth depends on water,” Vaughn said. “I think we have to plan with the idea that you’re going to have periods of flood and drought.”