To help address some of those concerns, Utilities Director Michael Mann shared an update with City Council on March 11 regarding the current water capacity and the outlook for the city water supply.
Mann said while the city is facing a prolonged drought, he is confident in the direction the city is going and the capabilities to serve current residents and the forecasted developments, at least until around 2060-70.
The details
Mann explained that the city mostly uses surface water, with primary sources being Canyon Lake and Boerne Lake.
While surface water made up around 72% of the water distributed in 2024, groundwater made up 15% and reclaimed water made up 13%. The use of reclaimed water instead of potable water led to the conservation of around 156 million gallons of water.
“Without reclaimed water, we would already be short right now,” Mann said.
The city lake was last full in 2022 and reached a record low in October. As of the meeting, the lake was around 56% full. Comparatively, Canyon Lake was last full in 2021, and was around 48% full as of the meeting.
Mann said the city is limited on the number of acre-feet of water that can be pulled from the lake each year. This limit is established by the state.
“What is encouraging to me is that we are in the middle of this prolonged drought and we still have half the lake available,” he said.
The outlook
Mann said the total water service population in 2045 after the build-out of developments such as Esperanza and George's Ranch is expected to be around 37,549.
Depending on the growth and use up until 2070, the city is expected to maintain water until between 2050 and 2070, with Mann projecting the water will be available until between 2060 and 2070.
“Somewhere between 2060 and 2070, we feel comfortable that we have enough water until then,” he said.
While there is always a possibility of a severe water shortage depending on drought conditions and other factors, Mann said he is confident that Boerne will be able to sustain itself longer than the surrounding areas.
“We are not overallocated at this point,” he said. “We have enough water for the population that we see coming in the service territory, including those areas that are still developing.”
What they’re saying
Should the city need to increase water capacity to serve residents, options available include the purchase of regional water, the expansion of the reclaimed water systems and other methods of pulling water from outside sources.
Mann said pulling water from a regional source would be costly, considering regional utilities are also facing drought conditions, which can lead to a higher demand.
Council member Quinten Scott said the expansion of the reclaimed water system would be advantageous for the city when considering future development and growth.
“If we make the investment to expand the reclaimed water system now to the areas that aren’t served by it, we can ensure future growth in that system,” he said.
Other council members echoed this sentiment, with council member Sharon Wright recommending the possibility of turning reclaimed water into potable water in the future.
Mann said it is possible to bring the water to drinking water standards, but that would require an additional facility for treatment. This would be expensive, but not as expensive as tapping into a regional supply, he said.
Council member Joseph Macaluso said at the end of the day, the city’s responsibility is to ensure that residents have access to water.
“Our responsibility is to provide water to the citizens of Boerne, not everybody who lives in Boerne,’” he said. “That is our responsibility as a utility water board and as elected officials. We cannot be a regional utility provider for 78006 and the regional ZIP codes. We just don’t have the resources for that.”
