This spring, the City of Georgetown will be asking voters to approve a plan to sell a portion of the city’s water service area. City leaders have expressed their concern of a potential shortage of water amid significant growth, and they believe transferring responsibility to a third-party may be the answer.
The Georgetown City Council has voted to put the issue onto the ballot in May, and if voters say yes, parts of the city’s water service will be transferred to a privately owned company called National Utility Infrastructure, or NUI.
City Manager David Morgan said about 40% of water customers live outside of the city limits, either in extraterritorial jurisdictions, or other cities, like Florence and Liberty Hill.
“A lot of our water territory today is well outside of those bounds, and we think that should be managed by someone else,” Morgan said. “We’re excited, we believe we went through a competitive RFP process, we believe that NUI is a strong company that has a good track record that will be able to responsibly handle this water utility.”
Officials estimate that the transfer could reduce Georgetown’s need to acquire new water by as much as 60%, and that rates will be lessened over time for customers within the city.
Some critics remain unconvinced, however, citing limited water sources from which NUI and the city would both draw.
If voters reject the plan, officials said Georgetown already has a contingency plan in place that would allow them to continue to acquire additional water resources through the year 2070.
May 2, 2026 is the date set for that vote.
