Resident urges Boerne to finish long-term water plan, warns on regional projects

Milan Michalek, a Boerne resident, used the public-comment period at the Sept. 9 meeting to urge the council to complete the city’s long-term water plan and to weigh alternatives before joining regional projects.

Michalek said the Boerne Community Water Planning Committee was created by unanimous council vote in 2020 to research long-term water resources. He said the committee produced a seven-page memo titled "Summary of Water Conservation Opportunities" and that it met most of its goals but did not complete the fourth task: "to seek out and evaluate potential new water resources."

Michalek described past committee activity that considered Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) options and noted efforts to change state restrictions on Edwards Aquifer groundwater that were vetoed by the governor in 2019 and failed in subsequent sessions. He said committee materials and a website had faded from public view by early 2023 and that leadership changes followed.

More recently, Michalek said, GBRA is promoting a project called WaterSecure that he described as "incredibly expensive" and long-term; he noted the city has declined to participate. He urged the council to complete the city’s master water plan work and to revisit options such as indirect and direct potable reuse that the city previously examined.

Why it matters: Water-supply decisions carry long-term cost and infrastructure implications. Michalek asked the council to accelerate completion of the city’s expanded water master plan to preserve planning momentum and evaluate alternatives before committing to costly regional solutions.

No formal council action resulted from the comment; staff did not respond with a commitment on next steps during the public-comment period.