Tom Green County Commissioners discussed the City of San Angelo’s long-term water reuse plans, and potential environmental impacts, associated with the indirect potable reuse of highly-treated municipal wastewater after receiving a letter of opposition regarding the City of San Angelo’s potable water reuse in the Concho River.
The conversation centered on the city’s proposal to discharge highly treated wastewater into the Concho River using a method known as river bank filtration, a process designed to naturally cleanse the water through sand and soil before it is withdrawn again, retreated, and distributed as drinking water.
Tom Green County Judge Lane Carter explained the process of filtration during the meeting.
“The methods that they’re using now is called river bank filtration, and when you have the water used from the water treatment plant… it is treated and excreted directly into the river at a mode where that water coming out is cleaner than what that river already has in it,” Carter said, “there is no sewage going into the river.”
He emphasized the city is not pursuing direct potable reuse, a previously proposed method rejected over a decade ago due to public opposition.
Instead, the city is working toward a model that introduces an environmental buffer — in this case, the river — between the treatment and reuse phases.
Permit Details and Timeline
According to public records and information posted by the City of San Angelo, the city already received the discharge permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, but actual river discharge cannot begin until major upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant are completed.
That process is expected to take up to six years.
Additionally, the city filed Application No. 13741 with the TCEQ to obtain a Bed-and-Banks Permit, authorizing the use of an 8.1-mile segment of the Concho River to convey 13,443 acre-feet of treated wastewater per year from the discharge point to a downstream diversion (intake) point. The treated water would then be piped back to the Lone Wolf Water Treatment Plant for additional purification.
Permit documents provided by TCEQ show that the wastewater originates from sources already legally available to the city, including stored surface water and groundwater.
The discharge will occur at a location east of San Angelo and be retrieved upstream near an existing city-owned dam.
To ensure environmental safety, carriage losses — the amount of water lost in river transit — have been calculated at four-tenths of 1 percent (0.4).
The city is also required to maintain a daily accounting system to track water volumes discharged and diverted, and to meet minimum bypass flow requirements downstream to protect aquatic ecosystems.
Indirect Potable Reuse vs. Direct Potable Reuse
Residents should understand the distinction between indirect and direct potable reuse, which has been a source of public concern.
Direct potable reuse involves treating wastewater and sending it directly back into the water supply system without an environmental buffer.
In contrast, the current San Angelo plan employs indirect potable reuse, which uses the natural environment — in this case, the Concho River — as an additional filtration and treatment barrier. After advanced treatment at the wastewater plant, the water is discharged into the river, where it mixes and undergoes further natural purification before being extracted again for final treatment and consumption.
Judge Carter explained the process, saying, “when you have the water used from the water treatment plant, it goes to your tap, down the sewer, into the sewer treatment plant, and it is treated and excreted directly into the river at a mode where that water coming out is cleaner than what that river already has in it.” He added, “That water that’s actually going to be put into the river is probably cleaner and has less contaminants in it than the river already has.”
Judge Carter emphasized, “…you’re not having sewage going into the river – there is no sewage going into the river.”
To learn more about reporting requirements for indirect potable reuse of municipal wastewater, read Volume 1 “of “Direct Potable Reuse Monitoring: Testing Water Quality in a Municipal Wastewater Effluent Treated to Drinking Water Standards,” published by the Texas Water Development Board.
In Other News
The court also approved a resolution certifying Tom Green County’s annual grant to Meals for the Elderly for fiscal year 2026. The funds support meal delivery to homebound elderly residents and/or individuals with disabilities through Sept. 30, 2026.
“We are able to use these funds that are provided through the county to help match higher levels and provide the meals for our elderly home-bound,” Carter said.
Commissioners also considered a memorandum of understanding between West Texas Counseling and Guidance (WTCG) and the county, related to WTCG’s Texas Veterans Family and Alliance grant. The collaborative agreement runs from Sept. 1, 2025, through Aug. 31, 2027, and includes shared services and salary support for a county veteran service officer.
“Through this collaboration, our veteran service officer collects data for West Texas Counseling and Guidance,” said Nate Southard. “With that data, they can help serve veterans and their families in different capacities.”
1 Comment
The water we drink is many hundreds of million years old. We drink recycled dinosaur urine. Fortunately, our planet is very good at cleaning it up so it does not kill humans. If it did not have that capacity, you would not be reading this. The plan to recycle water here is sound science and essential to meet our water needs in the future.