Marble Falls Bets on Direct Potable Reuse as Water Crisis Looms

In a recent episode of The Building Texas Show, host Justin McKenzie sits down lakeside with Marble Falls Mayor John Packer to discuss how this small Hill Country city is tackling big challenges. Recorded with construction underway in the background, the conversation covers a new lakefront hotel conference center, an economic development strategy that avoids financial incentives, and one of the most ambitious water recycling plans in the region. Packer, a small business owner of more than 20 years and a returning mayor after a four-year break, frames water as the defining issue for Texas cities. With drought pressure mounting west of the dry line, Marble Falls is pursuing a three-pronged water plan combining Highland Lakes surface water, a newly purchased well water system, and direct potable reuse from a relocated wastewater plant. On the proposed reuse system, Packer tells McKenzie: 'If we draw over a million gallons of water outta the lake every day to make drinking water, and we produce roughly 800,000 gallons of wastewater, we can turn that 800,000 into at least 600,000 or 700,000 gallons of water. It's just a kind of a no-brainer.' He acknowledges the concept 'makes people cringe a little bit,' but insists, 'it's the future.' Packer also highlights operational realities behind growth. He recounts how the July 4th flooding turned Lake Marble Falls into 'chocolate milk,' quadrupling treatment cycle times for weeks. More than 35,000 vehicles cross through town daily on Highway 281, a route stretching from Mexico to the northern United States, yet traffic nearly vanishes after 7 p.m., complicating TxDOT funding cases. Quality-of-life investments include a built beach along a lake that can flood 18 feet, expanded trails and sidewalks, a popular skate park, and a partnership in the One Water initiative tied to the new wastewater plant's purple pipe system. McKenzie and Packer cover a wide span of city-building topics drawn directly from Marble Falls' current agenda, including coordination with TxDOT, LCRA, TCEQ, and the county on the 281 and 1431 intersection and the Highway 71 corridor. The episode underscores how a small city on the edge of Austin's growth corridor is navigating aging 1950s-era infrastructure and one of the most ambitious water recycling plans in the region. Listen to this Episode