City of Kerrville reduces its safe operating capacity

City of Kerrville officials have announced that due to the continuing decline in the Guadalupe River flow in Kerr County, the city has reduced its river water diversion – the amount of water the city draws from the river – by 0.775 million gallons per day. This decision marks the third time since June 2022 that the city has self-curtailed or reduced river diversion, resulting in a cumulative curtailment of 2.255 MGD. In addition, a reduction in groundwater has been agreed upon, and the combined reductions have resulted in adjusting the city’s safe operating capacity, which officially occurred on July 26, 2023.

City officials say that irrigation has a significant impact on the city’s drinking water demand and that can account for an estimated 30-40 percent of the city’s total drinking water usage. Citizens are encouraged to adhere to conservation measures that are currently in place.

As a reminder, current conservation measures do not affect the city’s reuse water customers, which include three area golf courses, the Sports Complex, and the Tivy High School and Schreiner University athletic fields. Those facilities receive water from the city’s reuse pond, which stores non-potable water and then distributes to them accordingly.

The City of Kerrville will continue to monitor all the factors related to the drought, including river flow, well levels, water system sustainability, water demand, short/long term weather forecasts, and other related factors. Future updates to include changes in restrictions as well as best practices will be provided accordingly.

For more information, visit the city’s Water Management Plan at www.kerrvilletx.gov/512/Water-Restrictions.