San Marcos City Council to consider issuing $17M in Alliance Regional Water Authority funds, naming more alleys after movies filmed in San Marcos

The San Marcos City Council will consider whether to issue contract revenue bonds of more than $17.2 million toward the city’s regional water supply contract with the Alliance Regional Water Authority during their regular meeting Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. at 630 E. Hopkins St., San Marcos.

ARWA is working with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and the Canyon Regional Water Authority in sharing water treatment and treated water pipelines to deliver water to other municipalities as well, such as Lockhart and New Braunfels, primarily with water from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer with permits to pump in from it in Caldwell County.

The project, which has been in the works since 2007, would supply ARWA with up to 27 million gallons of water per day to high-growth areas along the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. The water authority has groundwater permits to pump the water from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Caldwell County.

As previously reported by Community Impact, the first phase of a 15-acre water treatment plant is anticipated to gain access to the water supply by the end of 2023.

City council will also consider creating a policy to increase the installation and use of “purple pipe” in new developments and whether the city’s development code needs to be updated. The pipes are typically used for reclaimed and retreated water—or graywater—that can be diverted toward uses such as irrigation.

The City Council will also consider initiating a process of naming alleys after movies that were primarily filmed in San Marcos. In July the San Marcos Main Street board voted against recommending naming the alley between the 100 block of San Antonio Street and East MLK Drive to Boyhood Alley after the 2014 film "Boyhood" from director Richard Linklater. Portions of the film were filmed in San Marcos, including that alley.

On Sept. 20, the council held a discussion on the matter for the second time and Mayor Jane Hughson was concerned that anyone unaware of the movie might find a negative connotation to the name. It passed 6-1.