The Wimberly Independent School District (WISD) created and implemented a new school, the first Texan One Water Campus, that will use One Water strategies to use 90% less of groundwater from the Trinity Aquifer compared to traditional construction standards. The construction of the new school will reuse rainwater, HVAC condensate and wastewater treatment to reduce the usage of groundwater. The new and innovative One Water primary school, located at the Wimberley Valley on Ranch Road 12 and Winters Mill Parkway, had its groundbreaking ceremony on July 29th, 2019.
One Water is a water management and planning technique that views water in as a an interconnected resource that travels through and is used by a community. Through collaboration with stakeholders, One Water strives to utilize water in the most effective and efficient as possible. WISD created the One Water primary school by collaborating with various local entities such as the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University.
The design of the school highlights the importance of protecting Wimberley’s sensitive water resources, such as Jacob’s Well, by managing all the water as a single resource in a sustainable and reusable way throughout the construction and operation processes. The One Water primary school encompasses the importance of conservation of natural resources, green stormwater infrastructure, open space preservation and education in our communities.