NBU’s Water Supply
Ensuring a Diverse Water Supply for Generations to Come
Water is one of our community’s most important resources. NBU plans decades ahead to help ensure reliable water service for current and future customers. Planning is part of our commitment to caring for the people, businesses, and neighborhoods that depend on us every day.
Every Texas community faces unique water challenges. Thanks to proactive planning, New Braunfels is in a strong and stable position. NBU has invested decades in planning, infrastructure and stewardship, securing a diversified water portfolio designed to meet the needs of our community for the next 50 years and beyond.
A water portfolio is a collection of different water sources that work together to provide a reliable supply of water. By using multiple sources, NBU reduces its dependence on any one supply and is better prepared for future challenges.
Benefits of a diverse water portfolio include:
- Greater reliability during drought
- Reduced dependence on a single water source
- Long-term water security
- Flexibility when conditions change
Why Water Planning Matters
Water planning is a long-term responsibility. Unlike many services, new water supplies cannot be developed quickly. Identifying, permitting, purchasing, and building the infrastructure needed to deliver water can take many years or, in some cases, decades. Because of this, NBU evaluates future water needs well in advance to help ensure reliable service for current and future customers.
Opportunities to secure new water supplies are also limited. Many regional water sources are already fully allocated, meaning utilities like NBU must plan early and carefully when opportunities do arise.
Through conservation, infrastructure investments, regional partnerships, and a diversified water portfolio, NBU works to help ensure reliable water service for generations to come while responsibly managing the resources entrusted to our care.
A History of Water in New Braunfels
When NBU began providing water service in 1959, the Edwards Aquifer was the community’s only water source. The aquifer remains an important part of our water supply today, but it can no longer meet the needs of our community on its own. Water use has grown, and permits for additional Edwards Aquifer water are no longer available.
To prepare for the future, NBU has spent decades expanding and diversifying our community’s water supplies for our community by adding surface water from the Guadalupe River and Canyon Lake, groundwater from the Trinity Aquifer, and regional water supply partnerships.
Today, NBU’s water supply is made up of seven sources totaling 54,575 acre-feet per year (AFY) of authorized water. An acre-foot is enough water to cover one acre of land with one foot of water and is a standard way utilities measure large volumes of water. By combining surface water, groundwater, and purchased regional water, NBU has built a diversified water portfolio that reduces dependence on a single water source and strengthens our long-term reliability during extreme drought and population growth.
Our Water Sources
The Edwards Aquifer was the first water supply for New Braunfels. NBU began providing water service in 1959. The Edwards Aquifer supplies drinking water to millions of people and feeds well-known springs including Comal Springs, San Marcos Springs, and Hueco Springs. Because of its highly permeable nature, water levels and spring flows respond quickly to rainfall, drought, and pumping. The aquifer is managed by the Edwards Aquifer Authority, and no new permits are being issued.
NBU’s surface water supply comes from the Canyon Reservoir and Guadalupe River. Of all the supplies, NBU has the most permitted volume for surface water with both Canyon Reservoir and Guadalupe River (Run-of-River) permits. Current infrastructure capacity does not allow full use of the permitted water volume, but an expansion of the Surface Water Treatment Plant is underway and expected to be online in 2029.
Canyon Reservoir was created for two main purposes – it provides flood control to the area and a dependable water supply. Both surface water sources are managed by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA), and Canyon Reservoir water permits are fully allocated—so no new permits are being issued. Expanding water treatment capacity today helps ensure NBU can make greater use of water resources it has already secured to support customers and the community in the future.
The Trinity Aquifer lies geologically above the Edwards Aquifer and generally produces smaller spring flows with more limited underground pathways. Some Trinity wells have higher mineral content and are considered “groundwater under the influence of surface water,” meaning rainfall and surface conditions can more directly affect water quality. NBU’s Trinity Water Treatment Plant uses advanced low-pressure membrane treatment to ensure water meets all drinking water standards. The aquifer is managed by the Comal Trinity Groundwater Conservation District.
City of Seguin Water Agreement Timeline
In 2018, NBU entered into a water agreement with the City of Seguin as part of its long-term strategy to diversify water supplies and help prepare for drought conditions, future growth and changing water needs. This agreement is in effect through 2038.
A common misconception is that NBU never received water through this agreement. In reality, NBU received water from 2019 through July 2024 through a regional partnership that allowed water to be delivered through a wheeling agreement, which allows water to be transported through another provider’s existing infrastructure, similar to using an established roadway to reach a destination. This allowed water to be delivered to New Braunfels without constructing new infrastructure.
When the wheeling agreement ended in July 2024, water deliveries associated with that arrangement also ended.
NBU is currently evaluating several options for the agreement, including a long-term contract extension, future infrastructure solutions and other opportunities that could provide value for customers. Any future decision will be based on long-term water needs, reliability, operational flexibility and responsible stewardship of customer resources.
Water utilities often secure and maintain access to future water supplies years before they are needed because waiting until demand arises can result in significantly higher costs or no available water supply at all.
NBU purchases water from Green Valley Special Utility District under a short-term contract running through 2026. GVSUD serves areas south and east of New Braunfels and supplies water sourced from the Edwards, Trinity, and Carrizo aquifers, as well as Canyon Lake surface water.
The GCWSP provides access to groundwater from the Carrizo Aquifer through a regional partnership. The Carrizo Aquifer is a large sand and gravel aquifer increasingly used for municipal supply along the I-35 corridor, including communities such as San Antonio. NBU participates with other communities through GBRA’s project, which includes a shared well field in Gonzales County. Water is pumped, treated, and transported approximately 60 miles to New Braunfels.
The Results of Long-Term Planning
Over 23,000 AF of new water supplies has been added in the past five years, nearly doubling the NBU’s water supply portfolio and securing adequate water supply to take us well into 2075. With ongoing conservation efforts, the need for new water supplies could be delayed even longer. One of NBU’s strategic goals is Stewardship. Our commitment to preserving and protecting community resources through planning, innovation, collaboration, and education is evidenced by providing innovative essential services through responsible management of the community’s resources placed in our care. Together, we will work to protect and manage those resources for generations to come.
Do you have questions about where New Braunfels’ water comes from, how it’s managed, or how NBU is planning for the future?
NBU’s Water Supply and Planning Demo – Learn more about New Braunfels Utilities’ One Water program and how we plan for the community’s long-term water future.
This interactive, one-hour indoor experience gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how water supply, demand, growth, and drought are balanced to support New Braunfels today and into the future. You’ll also learn where our water comes from, how it is managed, and why conservation continues to play an important role.