ATX-SBK: Impact 10/23/2025

Residents in San Marcos, Buda and Kyle are now receiving 6 million gallons of water daily from a new regional supply system following completion of the Alliance Water Treatment Plant and pipeline segments A, B, D and E.

Officials said in a news release that segment C is nearly complete and plans are already underway to expand the plant's capacity to process more groundwater.

In a nutshell: Construction on the Carrizo-Wilcox Water Project’s transmission system, which includes a $55 million, 568-acre water treatment plant, was announced in 2021.

“Once completed, the capacity of the system will reach 27 million gallons of water per day,” officials said in the release. “This water supply will benefit more than 225,000 residents across this project’s serviced area, which continues to grow.”

What’s next? Officials said the project is ongoing. Design plans to expand the capacity of processed groundwater at the treatment plant are in the works, with construction expected to begin in early 2026.

Five years after closing longtime Austin restaurant Shady Grove, owner Rusty Zagst broke ground Oct. 15 on his refreshed concept, which will be a spinoff of the original eatery.

“A Little Shady will carry forward the beloved flavors and atmosphere that made the original Shady Grove an Austin institution,” Zagst said in a statement to Community Impact.

In a nutshell: The fast-casual restaurant will offer indoor and outdoor dining areas that blend vintage design and modern vibes, he said. 

The menu will feature what Zagst calls Shady Grove’s “greatest hits,” including:

• Burgers
• Green chili cheese fries
• The Hippie Sandwich, made with vegetables, mozzarella cheese and pesto mayo
• Grilled wings
• Chicken-fried chicken
• Frozen treats

• 5172 S. FM 1626, Kyle

The 2025 Austin-San Antonio Growth Summit kicked off on Oct. 8, highlighting the current growth and future expansion of business and development along the I-35 corridor.

Hundreds of business owners, regional officials and lawmakers attended the event in San Marcos.

The outlook: Henry Cisneros, former San Antonio mayor and 10th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, began the summit by detailing what the region could look like by 2050.

“What we’re living through is quantitatively different than any generation has seen before,” he said.

By 2050, Cisneros said the population in the Austin and San Antonio metroplex is projected to grow from 5.3 million to 8.3 million.

Even by 2030, the population in the area is expected to grow to 6 million or 7 million, according to the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council.

Between 2023 and 2024 alone, data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that San Antonio grew by 23,945 residents.