Hutto is a small town to the northeast of Austin that has seen tremendous growth lately.  The population of Hutto has literally gone up by over 800% over the past few years.  For reasons unknown to me, the city entered into water contracts with several different suppliers.  These agreements have caused Hutto to buy far more water than its residents can use.

Hutto's water contracts have it buying so much water, the cost to the average consumer has become ridiculous.  According to the Austin American Statesman, the average residential water bill in Hutto for 10,000 gallons of water used in 2007 will be almost $100.  That compares to about $32 in Round Rock and $59 in Pflugerville, two close neighboring communities.  The bills in Hutto are higher to offset what the city is paying for water.  The city is also shelling out more money from other funds to help cover the huge cost of water.

I don't know about you, but this seems pretty strange and perhaps irresponsible.  Lake Travis is at about half its capacity.  The Edwards Aquifer is low.  Creeks and wells are dry in many areas because of the three year drought.  The LCRA will be restricting water normally released from Lake Travis for farmers downstream because of their concern that we'll enter summer with so little water available.  So most of us in Central Texas are dramatically cutting back our water usage and Hutto is buying too much.

I think the companies who are providing water to Hutto are making terrible decisions.  They are making a profit because of their water contracts with Hutto.  OK, businesses are in business to make money.  I understand that.  But do they care at all at how bad they look by enforcing these contracts?  They must not.  Do they care about how much water is being wasted when it is such a precious commodity?  I guess not.

I hope that someone figures out a fix for this.  The residents of Hutto are being hurt by what may have been bad decisions by the city and by the greed of the water companies.  Oh, you want to know who the water companies are, right?  According to the Statesman, they are Manville Water Supply Corp., Heart of Texas Suppliers, LP and the City of Taylor.