Author: Deb Youngblood
On a recent visit with Kris Kneese, Director of Public Works & Utilities for the city of Fredericksburg, I learned the latest estimate of per person per day use of water in Fredericksburg is 200 gallons (about the volume of a large refrigerator).
Something else I learned from Kris is that every person who gets their water from the city can go online and check their own water consumption. Do you know yours? If not, it is time to check. Why, you may ask, do you need to reduce water consumption?
Have you noticed how much construction is ongoing: apartments, duplexes, townhomes, and condominiums? To date 1024 units have been recently completed or are under construction or have been approved but have not yet started construction.* When all of these are completed, you can expect the population to jump as most of these units are for families. Daily water consumption will rise but it is up to us if it will rise by 200 gallons per person or a more tolerable 120 (or fewer) gallons per person.
Consider that we are in a drought and the Ellenberger aquifer, our main source of drinking water in this county, is experiencing depletion at a significant enough rate that the Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District declared the Ellenberger aquifer to be in a Critical Groundwater Depletion Area Category One Classification. This means that the ability of the aquifer to provide sustainable yields at normal usage rates is seriously impaired.** If everyone keeps using water at our current rate, our aquifer may not be able to provide 200 gallons of water per day to each of us. Add a significant increase in our population and the problem is compounded.
Where will the water come from for the anticipated increase in our population? There is no magical solution, no mysteriously abundant aquifer nearby, no remnants of a hurricane that will solve this for us. Even if it rains tomorrow, the drought will continue until this cycle of drought is done and rains come once again in abundance. Those who have lived here for many years know the cycle well – the rains will come, followed inevitably, at some point, by another drought and so on. Rain and drought cycles are the norm for the Texas Hill Country. While we can and should store rainwater when there is an excess, the most vital and cost-effective means of providing water to our increasing population is through water conservation. The water that we do not use is our most valuable resource.
Water conservation begins with you. Once you know what your level of water consumption is, you will know if you need to adjust your water usage down a notch or two. There are many ways to save water and the most important is to be intentional about our water use. If you are intentional about turning off faucets, fixing leaks, timing showers, harvesting rainwater, planting native plants, and actively looking for every conceivable way to save, you will save. Water conservation is here to stay; it is a necessity because no one is making more water. If everyone is to have water in the future, we must all use less water.
Be a good neighbor, start conserving water now.