06/20/2026
Its friday, that means its Q&A day.
📍Public's Question:
Could the city provide an update on the well drilling project? Specifically, how is the first well performing compared to its original estimated output, and what are the projections for meeting the total water demand from current users plus all approved buildings over the next 1–2 years? Given that these wells draw from a shared aquifer also serving major new development in the Anderson area, how sustainable will this supply be?
My response:
💧 Brenham's Water Future: A Closer Look at Capacity
Thank you for your excellent questions on our well-drilling progress and long-term water supply. This is a vital issue as Brenham grows responsibly, and while it's complex to cover fully in one post, here's a clear overview.
🛡️The State Requires Proactive Planning
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) mandates that every public water system closely monitor these things:
1) Production Capacity - treating enough raw water for daily demand
2) Storage Capacity - reserves for peak use and emergencies
3) Pumping Capacity - delivering water through the distribution system
When a utility reaches 85% of its rated capacity, state law requires immediate notification to TCEQ and a formal expansion plan. We stay ahead of this threshold and are working on expansion actively.
📅Where We Stand Today
• Our current average daily use is about 9 acre-feet per day.
• Separately, that same 9 acre-feet/day represents about 64% of our annual contract allocation with the Brazos River Authority (4,974 acre-feet/year, or about 14 acre-feet/day). That's a different number measuring a different thing — how much of our water rights we're using, not how close we are to a treatment limit — but it's part of why we're working to secure more BRA allocation now rather than later.
• The treatment plant is already being expanded to 8.35 MGD (about 26 acre-feet/day), which will add further headroom as the city grows.
🚰Diversifying Our Sources
We're not relying solely on Lake Somerville. The Loesch Street Groundwater Well Project is underway:
• Phase 1 — of the drilling is nearing completion.
• Phase 2 — the treatment facility that connects the well to our system — is planned to follow.
Once fully operational, the well is expected to add about 790 acre-feet/year (roughly 2 acre-feet/day, or 0.706 MGD) from a groundwater source independent of the lake intake, added insurance against any surface water disruption.
📊Future Capacity & Growth
City staff monitor connections quarterly to ensure stay compliant with TCEQ requirements. As of Q1 2026, we have 10,220 connections and below TCEQ’s 85% rule and well below the 100% connection capacity of 12,125 connections. This capacity will grow when the water treatment plant expansion is completed.
In December 2025, city submitted a Long-Term Water Needs Questionnaire to BRA requesting significant additional allocation. Additional BRA water, combined with the new well, will provide strong capacity for approved development and continued growth, but it's a balancing act that requires ongoing monitoring, planning, and infrastructure investment to stay ahead of demand.
🏗️Addressing Regional Concerns
Our sources tap into the same regional aquifer systems and water sources shared with broader development across the area. That's exactly why we're diversifying supply and planning years in advance rather than waiting for shortages. The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) meets and maintains state/regional water plans and meets regularly with regional entities to monitor and adjust for changing conditions — and Brenham isn't immune from trends playing out statewide or regionally. You can find the 2027 draft State Water Plan from April 2026 here:https://www.twdb.texas.gov/waterplanning/swp/2027/docs/DraftSWP27-Water-For-Texas.pdf It is clear from the state’s plan that water conservation, reuse, and strategic surface/groundwater development are priorities if we want to avoid severe shortages and risk in the future.
✅Bottom Line
Brenham currently has a reliable water supply with built-in headroom for the immediate future. We have an active treatment plant expansion, a new groundwater well in progress, and ongoing negotiations for additional BRA water. We're well-positioned to support current residents and the growth we're seeing, but it's a balancing act, carefully monitored across more factors than one social media post can fully capture. We need to continue making investments for the water future we want and continue to work ahead.
I'm happy to meet and talk if you have additional questions, this is a complex topic, and I'd rather walk through it directly than oversimplify it here.
