Since September 1st of 2023, Kyle, Texas
has been under “Amended Stage 3 Mandatory Water Use
Management Rules” due to the drought, caused by record
setting heat and little rain, that is currently taking
place. Kyle is a small city south of Austin
and just North of San Marcos, situated along
Interstate 35, one of the country’s fastest growing
corridors. Within the recent years, Kyle has undergone serious development throughout the city. Kyle has gone from a blink and you miss it city, to a city that now
has a Costco and multiple shopping centers.
Now, because of the development and the drought,
a large amount of the water supply was
used. The result is the people of Kyle now have
Stage 3 Drought Restrictions and there is a
need for a new and more efficient water source.
To continue providing water to the growing population, Kyle has been purchasing water from nearby San Marcos to keep up with the demand from the residents. While it is natural for cities to look for help from neighboring cities there is another solution
that is also in the works. Kyle Assistant City Manager Amber Schmeits said that The Alliance Regional Water Authority (ARWA) is working on “a new water project looking to pump groundwater from the Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer, southwest of San Antonio.” This pipeline will be used to bring in more water to the Central Texas area
from farther south. Many cities are involved with this project such as Kyle, Buda, San Marcos, and Martindale.
In Kyle there are two main locations where the drought is visible to all residents. The Five Mile Dam and Lake Kyle. Both locations show the effects the drought has on the environment on both sides of Interstate 35 and hold very little water compared to before the drought. The lower levels at Lake Kyle show all of the plant life that was once under water, while the lower levels at the Five Mile Dam reveal all of the rock and stone that used the bed of the river.
To an extent, all of the residents living within Kyle are affected by this drought. Myself included, being a resident of Kyle for just over twenty years. This city is my home town, and throughout all the years I have never experienced anything like this before. Throughout all my years the only time I ever had to worry about the water in my home was during the deep freeze back in February of 2021. At the time the water was not working due to the freeze, but now, due to our short supply, we need an irrigation schedule to water our plants. Kyle needs a more efficient and reliable water source, both for the residents and to let places, like Lake Kyle and The Five Mile Dam, to have time to restore themselves.
Kyle, Texas, 2024