BLANCO, Texas — The City of Blanco and The Texas Water Company have reached an agreement on delivery service following a legal battle.
Back in late July, Blanco's city attorney sent a legal demand to the Texas Water Company, accusing it of keeping water from Blanco by prioritizing delivery to other customers. The demand followed Blanco seeing tank levels drop to dangerous lows earlier in the month.
"Intentionally or not, the company’s initial communications about the cause of the issue were clearly misleading," the City said in its announcement about the legal demand. "During the midst of this emergency, including the day-of, the [Texas Water] Company made verbal and written demands to Mayor Mike Arnold to pay for replacement of the pipeline that serves Blanco and other nearby users. Over time the Company has made similar demands to previous Blanco mayors, even though these claims against the City have been refuted by previous attorneys for the City. In resolution of those claims, the Company also proposed yet again that the city sell its water rights and ownership stake in the jointly owned pipeline and holding tank."
The City said at the time that it believed Texas Water Company's actions were a violation of the law and a violation of a "long established memorandum of understanding" between the City and the company. The City was asking the company to keep at least 500,000 gallons, or 10 feet, of water in the Stallion Tank that supplies Blanco. It was also asking for formal mediation between itself and the company to permanently resolve the issues, with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) involved.
Now the issue has been resolved, according to the mayor. On Oct. 2, Mayor Mike Arnold sent the KVUE Defenders the following statement:
"The City of Blanco and The Texas Water Company concluded an amicable session of mediation related to ongoing water transportation and other matters on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. At the conclusion of the mediation, a short-term agreement was signed by the City and TWC. Both parties came away encouraged by the progress made, and the good faith efforts shown, towards improving communications and resolving technical issues to ensure ongoing, uninterrupted wholesale water delivery to the City, and they look forward to resolving any other pending matters in subsequent mediated negotiations."
The exact details of the agreement are unclear at this time.