Bryan City Council to consider contract for ‘Keep Water Local’ media campaign

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX)—At its Tuesday meeting, the City of Bryan is considering a contract worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for a media campaign related to water.

City leaders said this campaign is to help residents understand more about local water issues.

The contract is worth up to $375,000 with Crosswind Media and Public Relations to craft a campaign to highlight the need to keep the water supply local.

Bryan Mayor Bobby Gutierrez took to Facebook with a meme and a message for taxpayers about the city’s water supply.

The full text of Gutierrez’s statement can be found below:

WATER!I was asked the other day other, “As Mayor, what are the things that keep you up at night?”My answer was: who is going to be the next chancellor of Texas A&M and how will they continue to do the things that John Sharp has done for our area. The second thing but most critical was WATER!, WATER!, WATER!, and how will we protect our most precious resource for future generations to allow for quality of life, growth and economic development.Currently, we have a company based out of San Francisco and financed by investment bankers in New York City, planning to transport most of all the remaining water in the aquifer controlled by the brazos valley groundwater district. The water to be transported is to serve the City of Georgetown and surrounding area. The cities of Bryan and College Station have maintained water resource plans out 50+ years - this transport arrangement would reduce that to less than 10 years and require BCS and A&M to begin finding other sources of water for the future. If successful, this project could effectively stop all economic development in Brazos and Robertson Counties. The importance of protecting water resources cannot be overstated. It’s not just an environmental issue—it’s about safeguarding the future of the Brazos Valley’s economy, health, and quality of life.-Bobby Gutierrez

In November of 2024, the City of Bryan joined the City of College Station and Brazos County in an agreement to protect water resources, even bringing on a lawyer.

KBTX heard from city leaders that they’re going to do what they can to keep Brazos Valley Water, in the Brazos Valley.

“We’re just making sure that we do everything that we can to protect the water resources in the Brazos Valley. We want to make sure that we keep our water local, and so one of the steps is making sure we have the correct expertise, including legal expertise, to help us through that process,“ Deputy City Manager Hugh Walker said.