City of Blanco, water supplier at odds over emergency restrictions

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The City of Blanco says its water supplier is to blame for the city’s water shortage and emergency restrictions.

The city says that Blanco City Attorney Tim Tuggey sent a letter to Texas Water Company alleging the city’s water shortage is due to “the company’s decision to prioritize delivery to other customers, causing our water supply to drop dangerously low.”

KXAN has reached out to Texas Water Company for a comment on the letter and this story will be updated once we hear back.

Texas Water Company has provided the city of Blanco with water for more than a year as its own water planet has been down for renovations. In the letter, Tuggey said the city “believes the actions of the company are a violation of the law, as well as a clear violation of a long-established memorandum of understanding between the city and the company.”

The city is asking for formal mediation between it and TWC with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality involved to “permanently resolve these issues.” It’s also demanding that TWC keep at least 500,000 gallons of water in the tank that supplies Blanco, and “never again force Blanco to a higher level of restrictions than other communities on the same system.”

At one point earlier in July, Mayor Mike Arnold said the city had 24 hours of water left when it went into Stage 6 water restrictions. Those restrictions prohibit all outdoor watering and industrial water use. Real Ale Brewing Company and Milam and Greene Distillery were asked to cease operations while the city conserved water.

“I am grateful for our community and our leadership team rising to this challenge,” the letter said. “We have sent this company a strong, unified message, and I am confident we will not again experience another man-made emergency in our water supply.”