There are some people in Kerrville with “their hair on fire” claiming,
“Kerrville’s out of water!”
Kerrville’s no stranger to drought conditions, including the historic
Seven Year Drought in the 1950s. We should always be vigilant about water.
Water is life and is a limited resource. Conservation is critical.
Here are the facts: We have a limited amount of water to draw from
the Guadalupe River, ten ground wells (eight currently producing water), two
ASR (Aquifer Storage and Recovery) wells that hold almost a billion gallons
of water, and a reuse pond that holds 95 million gallons of treated
wastewater used for irrigation.
As former mayor, I attended Texas Municipal League conferences,
where other municipal officials expressed their envy of Kerrville’s water
resources.
Bernie Bruns, a Tivy graduate who earned an engineering degree from
Texas A&M and worked with the Army Corps of Engineers, headed the Upper
Guadalupe River Authority upon his retirement. He persuaded the city to
create an ASR well – the first in Texas and the second in the nation.
During my first term, the city hired specialists in water issues across
Texas to bring us a report on our water resources, particularly in the worst
case scenario. That plan is being carefully implemented.
We stand on the shoulders of citizens, elected officials, and city staff
who have prepared us for wet times and dry times.
So, listen to warnings, but evaluate those in light of the facts.
Bill Blackburn
Mayor, 2018-2022