TXST takes leadership role in sustainability planning, environmental stewardship

Recent stage five restrictions announced by the Edwards Aquifer Authority have refocused attention on Central Texas’ limited water resources.

Texas State University, home of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, has long fostered good stewardship of the region’s ecological treasures. The headwaters of the San Marcos River flow from Spring Lake, forming one of the most biologically varied aquatic ecosystems known in the southwestern United States. Seven endangered species, including the Texas blind salamander, San Marcos salamander and Texas wild rice, are found in the upper four miles of the river.

TXST is a key stakeholder in the implementation of the Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Plan (EARIP) and the resulting Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for preserving the quality and quantity of water in the Edwards Aquifer and San Marcos River. Under EARIP and HCP, the university is committed to reducing withdrawals from both the Edwards Aquifer and the San Marcos River in times of drought.

In 2015, TXST and the city of San Marcos had the foresight to takes steps ensuring protection of the river flow for decades to come. The partners signed a 99-year deal, transferring approximately 380 million gallons of TXST river water rights to the city annually. In exchange, the university gained access to San Marcos’ reclaimed water program, tying into the city's reclaimed water line extension in 2017.

Although the pact is approaching its 10-year anniversary, neither party has needed to exercise its water options to date. Any water San Marcos withdraws from the river in the future will come from downstream, well past areas serving as habitat for endangered species and used for recreation. TXST is conducting a cost analysis for converting the existing cooling towers on campus to use reclaimed water. Currently, TXST uses hundreds of thousands of gallons of water annually to supply the cooling towers—water obtained through the university’s Edwards Aquifer well. Converting the university’s thermal plants to use reclaimed water will allow the university to reduce or eliminate reliance on the aquifer for cooling tower water.

San Marcos has offered reclaimed water service to industrial customers since 2000 using effluent that consistently meets Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Type 1 criteria, that is, municipal waste water treated to the extent that it is safe and suitable for reuse where public contact is likely.

TXST’s commitment to preserving the health of the San Marcos River is not limited solely to water rights. In the recently adopted Master Plan guiding the university’s growth through 2035, particular attention was devoted to the river as it flows through Sewell Park on campus and the headwaters at Spring Lake. Spring Lake is a site of profound cultural, historical and ecological significance, shaped by millennia of human and natural history. Today, it has the potential to be a beacon of hope, demonstrating how thoughtful stewardship can restore and preserve the integrity of a precious natural resource for generations to come.

TXST invites interested parties to learn more about the university’s plans for these precious water resources by visiting the university master plan website at www.facilities.txst.edu/pdc/masterplan.html.