8 | The City of San Marcos
tor Melissa Millecam explains that impacts
to this water supply affect much more than
her community, but communities all along
the San Marcos River, on to those along
the Guadalupe River, on down to the Texas
Coast where ecosystems are dependent on
the salinity balance accommodated from the
flow of fresh water into the bays.
In addition to the establishing of water
quality protection zones (representing the
best management practices in water sheds),
San Marcos has diversified its water supply
through the development of water reuse sys-
tems in irrigation and heating/cooling appli-
cation which have reduced water consump-
tion by more than 116 gallons per capita, per
day. Millecam says San Marcos has also de-
veloped water treatment capabilities which
have reduced dependence on the Edwards
Aquifer by as much as 85 percent.
For the last five years, the San Marcos
Water Treatment Plant has earned consecu-
tive honors from the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Owned by
the City of San Marcos, but operated by the
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, the wa-
ter treatment plant has consistently earned
TCEQ’s “TOP” award, an expression of the
Purgatory Creek Natural Area
