San Marcos City Council approved a groundwater lease Oct. 21 that will transfer the rights to 885 acre-feet of Edwards Aquifer water from the city to Martin Marietta Materials, a cement manufacturer with a facility in New Braunfels. The 10-week lease will bring the city an additional $347,805 of revenue, but many residents said they did not like the idea of selling water rights during a time when the city is in Stage 4 drought restrictions. "Stage 4 is not conservation," said San Marcos resident Marsha Thomason. "Stage 4 says, 'We're running out of water.' However, while the citizens who paid for that 10,000 acre-feet of water are being told they cannot water their shrubs, trees or slabs without risk of fine, the same council that established Stage 4 restrictions is approving construction for apartments, hotels and subdivisions, which will all need water." Many of the residents who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting said if the city is able to lease 885 acre-feet of water—about 288 million gallons—residents should not be under such harsh drought restrictions. Dianne Wassenich, executive director of the San Marcos River Foundation, said she prefers to never pump out of the Edwards Aquifer, but because the lease is for a 10-week period and the wells were far from the San Marcos River, she said she understood the council's preference to sign the lease. Wassenich said the council should stick to short-term leases that are far from the river. "If you have peak loading in the summer and you start using more Edwards water right during this drought, you could be the reason [the San Marcos River] dries up, so you have to take that into consideration," Wassenich said. Under Stage 4 drought restrictions, which the city entered for the first time in its history in August, residents are allowed to use sprinklers one day every two weeks. The restrictions also bar residents from filling swimming pools and using decorative water features. Tom Taggart, executive director of public services, said the revenue from the lease could be used for a variety of things, including easing future rate increases that will come as a result of efforts to bring new water sources such as the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer online. Taggart said the money that will be collected from the lease represents about 2 to 3 percent of the city water utility's annual income. "It would tend to put a downward pressure on rates," he said. "It would tend to stabilize rates." Earlier in 2014 the city leased 1,000 acre-feet to Martin Marietta for $324,000. Including the Oct. 21 decision, the city has leased 4,760 acre-feet of water since 2012. The city is permitted to pump up to 5,433 acre-feet of water from the Edwards Aquifer in 2014, but after the leased amounts and drought and conservation measures, the city is expected to have 2,091 acre-feet of water. According to city estimates, residents' groundwater use through the remainder of 2014 will leave the city with an extra 1,462 acre-feet. Ultimately council members Shane Scott, John Thomaides and Lisa Prewitt, along with Mayor Daniel Guerrero voted in favor of the lease. Council members Jude Prather, Ryan Thomason and Wayne Becak voted against it.