City council dives into ‘purple pipe,’ water conservation

The future of water conservation is taking shape in San Marcos.

San Marcos City Council discussed increasing the use and installation of “purple pipe” to meet its water conservation goals during Tuesday’s regular meeting.

Mayor Jane Hughson suggested denoting where the purple pipe is on wastewater and water maps for new projects “just to let developers know we have purple pipe, and we would like to make use of [it].”

“By talking about purple pipe, by showing it on maps that developers come in and use, I would just like to get that conversation going with them — not necessarily require it, but people are starting to pay more attention to this,” said Hughson. “The way we get towards future water [conservation] is we don’t use as much potable water and more people us[e] reused water.”

Purple pipe water is reused water from the city’s wastewater plant. Reused water is often used for irrigation purposes but not considered “potable,” or drinking water, which is typically held to a higher water treatment standard.

The first purple pipeline in San Marcos was built approximately 20 years ago, according to Hughson. The line runs north through Texas State University and south through Hays Power Plant, branching off to the cement plant and Kissing Tree.

The current capacity of San Marcos’ Water Reclaim System is 5.5 million gallons per day (MGD), and the city uses less than 1 MGD, according to the Oct. 18 work session packet. The city’s current contracts are 5 MGD.

Interim Assistant City Manager Laurie Moyer pointed out that industrial developers are incentivized to lay purple pipe by looking at high-end users, adding, “They can usually bear that cost of extending the lines to their development.”

Councilmember Jude Prather called San Marcos a “leader in water conservation efforts.”

“Having a reclaimed water master plan will help guide these efforts,” he said.

In a status report to council, city staff said they are engaged in conversations with developers about purple pipe and will provide council with direction following the completion of the city’s Reclaimed Water Master Plan.

Other items

In other business, council voted unanimously to amend Chapter 2, Article 3 of the San Marcos City Code related to procedural provisions and the composition of the Neighborhood Commission.

According to the agenda packet, the commission previously discussed and approved adding a position to represent the apartment community in May.

The commission also issued a recommendation to remove alternate provisions and make all members voting members.

Council also approved Resolution 2022-236R, authorizing the installation of segments of a city wastewater line outside the boundaries of an existing easement and authorized a purchasing agreement for the lease and maintenance of 62 vehicles for $801,957.

Council voted to defer action on an Executive Session item regarding the possible violations of Texas Water Code provisions by a special utility district.

San Marcos City Council holds meetings on the first and third Tuesdays each month. To view the full city council meeting, visit https://sanmarcostx.gov/421/City-Council-Videos-Archives.