San Marcos Electric Utility Plans Summer Tree Maintenance Schedule

The City of San Marcos Electric Utility (SMEU) will initiate tree pruning and removal in the Millview, Springtown, and Rio Vista areas on Monday, Aug. 5, in an effort to improve the reliability and safety of the electrical system in the City.

McCoy Tree Surgery has been hired as the contractor for this project, which is generally the area bounded by the Blanco River, IH 35, Post Road, and South Guadalupe Street.

SMEU worked closely with the City’s Urban Forester Kelly Eby to identify predominantly non-native hazardous trees to be removed along with the routine tree pruning in order to cultivate a sustainable, long-term approach to the scheduled grid maintenance. 

“The tree removals will reduce the number of trees required to be pruned during the next cycle and address issues with damaged and hazardous trees,” said Eby. “This helps the City to maintain a safe distance between the trees and the powerlines, while also fostering a healthy urban forest throughout the SMEU service territory.”

Trees targeted for removal are largely invasive, including chinaberry, ligustrum and paper mulberry, which have outgrown native trees in certain areas. These non-native trees have weak structures, so they are more likely to cause power outages and safety issues from branch debris during high-wind weather events.  

Trees scheduled for removal in the area have been pre-marked. Tree debris will be recycled into mulch for use by the public and City improvement projects. Eby is also working to secure grant funding for native trees to distribute to residents later this year.  

Additional tree pruning and removal in other parts of the SMEU service territory is planned in future years as the City’s budget allows.

For more information regarding tree health and safety, contact Eby at keby@sanmarcostx.gov. For information about SMEU, contact Electric Distribution Manager Scott King at sking@sanmarcostx.gov.