by Anayeli Ruiz
NewsWest 9
ANDREWS - West Texas towns are doing everything they can to survive this drought. Cities are desperate to conserve water and others are looking for new sources. But believe it or not, the City of Andrews not only has enough water to last them years but they've also stumbled upon a new resource.
This summer the City of Andrews was one of the few cities that didn't need water restrictions as they have ground water. But with the drought affecting every West Texas town they wanted to make sure they were covered.
"We looked at some old 1950's engineering studies that were done on water supplies for the community. We noticed that there had been an identified area seven miles south east of town," Andrews City Manager, Glen Hackler, said.
The 9,000 acre land is owned by University of Texas System. The City of Andrews decided to pursue it and they found out that the water was good for drinking. They negotiated a lease that would let them use the water if needed.
"They approved a long term lease agreement whereby we have a long term future water supply in a previously undeveloped area," Hackler said.
As of right now, the city is not paying for the lease but residents will have to start paying up if they develop a pipeline. They'll also have to pay royalty costs to the UT system for using their water.
"The amount of water in this field has the potential to double our existing supply. We believe there is about 60,000 acre feet of water, that just on its own could supply 25-30 years to the city," Hackler said.
Even though Andrews has plenty of water, they are still looking for more sources.
"Water is such a long term initiative that if you ever get behind it, its difficult to get back out in front of it. We're just continuing to make water a high priority here and the situation that we are seeing across the state and in our region," Hackler said.
The City of Andrews hopes that they don't have to use this water for 10 years but if needed the water is there.
