City lifts boil water advisory, says no utility rate increases

The City of San Marcos has lifted its boil water advisory for all its water customers effective Sunday after testing confirms water is safe to drink. 

The city stated in a news release that all its water system repairs were completed as of Saturday afternoon and pressure within the overall water distribution system allowed water samples to be collected per Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirements. The samples were sent for laboratory testing and results returned Sunday showing no contamination occurred. 

Additionally, the San Marcos Electric Utility completed all customer storm-related repairs Saturday to return service to the last few customers who had localized outages. Residents can return to normal electric and water consumption, the city said. 

No Increase in Electric Rates

The city said San Marcos Electric Utility customers will not see increased rates at this time. Customer usage, however, will likely be much higher than usual because of nearly two weeks of cold weather, which could result in higher than normal bills this period. SMEU is a municipal utility owned by the City of San Marcos, and rates are set by city ordinance in coordination with the city budget process. 

Customer Connect Usage Information

The city said if your usage graph in Customer Connect shows usage on days when you had no electricity, please note that this is how the information is displayed during a power interruption, but you are not being charged for electric usage during those times. The San Marcos utility system retrieves information from your smart meter at regular intervals, and those daily readings can be seen in Customer Connect under the My Usage tab. During a power interruption, those readings may not be available so the system estimates your daily usage, which can produce imprecise results in Customer Connect.

The system used to provide daily readings on graphs in Customer Connect is separate from the City’s billing system. The billing system uses only the total actual Kilowatt hours used at your meter at the end of your billing cycle. Customers will only pay for the actual Kilowatts used during the billing cycle at their home or business so please keep this in mind as you review the Customer Connect usage information for the days you had no electricity.

Plumbing Permit Fees Waived

The San Marcos City Council has temporarily waived fees for permits associated with plumbing repairs made necessary by the winter-storm event in order to relieve the financial burden on residents and businesses. This temporary waiver is in effect through the end of day on Thursday, April 1, and will be considered for ratification by Council at their meeting on Wednesday, February 24.

In most cases, a plumbing permit will still be required for all repair work and may be applied for online, 24-hours-a-day at: www.mygovernmentonline.org. To find additional details about plumbing requirements and who may apply for the permit, visit www.sanmarcostx.gov/plumbing.

As temperatures have warmed up, the city’s temporary winter weather call center will be closed as of 8 p.m. Sunday. If you need to report a water issue at your home or business, email waterwastewaterinfo@sanmarcostx.gov or call 512-393-8010. To report a power outage email poweroutinfo@sanmarcostx.gov or call 512-393-8313.