The City of San Marcos | 3
Benjamin Franklin once observed that the worth in
water is never so fully realized than when the well
has run dry. Yet, for the residents and city leaders of
one Texas community, the awareness of its most valu-
able natural resource has led to realizations in eco-
nomic growth, educational opportunities and consid-
erable advancement in conservation and sustainability
strategies. In this case, all are striving to ensure that
the water, as well as the community’s quality of life,
never runs dry.
San Marcos is a city located in Hays County, among the
Texas hills country, just off of Interstate 35 which winds
between Austin and San Antonio. While San Marcos’
modern founding is said to have emerged from a land
development deal struck back in 1851, as a community
inhabited by humanity, the area is millennia older. Arche-
ologists believe this community may be one of the old-
est sites of continued habitation in the Northern Hemi-
sphere. Artifacts have been discovered along the banks of
the San Marcos River which have been determined to be
12,000 years old; indicating that settlements existed well
