The first phase of a project that will ultimately bring water from Caldwell and Gonzales counties could be complete by 2017, said Graham Moore, general manager of Hays Caldwell Public Utility Agency.

The first phase of the HCPUA project will construct a pipeline connecting Kyle to Buda. It will allow Kyle to sell some of its water to Buda, which faces a water shortage in 2017, according to estimates from the city of Buda. Later phases will bring water from the Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer to San Marcos, Kyle, Buda and the Canyon Regional Water Authority, made up of the Green Valley and County Line special utility districts as well as the Martindale and Crystal Clear water supply corporations.

Moore said the purpose of the first phase is to defer the need for water from the Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer, which will be transported via a nearly 100-mile pipeline from Gonzales and Caldwell counties to Hays County.

“Through the HCPUA [Kyle] would sell excess water to Buda,” Moore said. “It may be surface water. It may be groundwater. It may be a combination.”

Moore said the agency has applied for $12 million of funds from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas, a revolving fund in which entities take out loans for water projects throughout the state and repay them over time.

The HCPUA currently holds permits for 10,300 acre-feet of water annually from the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District. The agency also plans to pursue rights to 4,700 acre-feet annually from the Plum Creek Conservation District, which covers part of Kyle and as far south as Luling.

Commissioner Will Conley asked Moore why the agency decided to pursue water nearly 100 miles away when the results of a recent test performed by Electro Purification indicated the Hays Trinity Aquifer—much closer to high-growth areas along I-35—can produce enough water to sustain that company's planned pumping.

Moore said the agency conducted a study about 10 years ago and determined the Carrizo was the agency's best option, although he admitted they did not know a lot about the Hays Trinity Aquifer at the time of the study. Anecdotally, the agency was concerned about the sustainability of that water source though.

"We determined that the Carrizo—particularly in what we call the four corners area of eastern Caldwell, Gonzales, Bastrop and Fayette counties—was the closest sustainable, high-quality water source that can meet the lifetime needs of 35,000 acre feet [annually]," Moore said.