Welcome to Save Our Spring Alliance - Save Our Springs Alliance

Big Win on Prop D, Big Loss on Prop J

On election day, Austin voters approved Proposition D with a staggering 84% voting "yes." This was the highest pass rate of any of the Austin bond measures. Prop. D provides UrbanAssault

$184 million for flood mitigation, open space and water quality protection. $72 million of the total is specifically earmarked for buying land and conservation easements in the Barton Springs watershed in order to permanently protect and remove those lands from potential development.

The citizen initiated CodeNext voter approval and waiting period ordinance lost by a narrow margin following a sh*&^%storm of misinformation funded by hidden money from the Real Estate Council of Austin. The false attacks on Prop J were amplified by Mayor Adler, the Austin Chronicle, and some usual allies in the environmental community who bought the idea that voters having a say on any resurrection of the CodNEXT fiasco ordinance would be a bad thing. There's plenty more to be said on this point, but we'll leave it there for now.

Thanks to everyone who voted. Stay engaged!! It takes a community to save a community spring!!. And we are blessed to see such a broad consensus of Austin voters favoring protecting Barton Springs with real funding.

We Lost a Giant - Stuart Henry, RIP

Stuart Henry was the first lawyer in Texas to make a living in environmental law on the side of the environment. He was the first environmental officer for the City of Austin. He 10637548 300x300 was an auto mechanic before going to law school in Houston. He was real, and hilarious, and loving, and fearless. He is gone now, but will continue to inspire us every day.

Services are this Thursday at 11:00 a.m., Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 200 West Anderson Lane. His obituary and a guest book are linked here.

Stuart Henry did more to protect the Edwards Aquifer and its Great Springs than any other person. He represented the Sierra Club in the landmark Endangered Species Act lawsuit to protect rare fish, salamanders, and other species that require clean and strong spring flows at Comal and San Marcos Springs. The lawsuit forced the State of Texas to establish the Edwards Aquifer Authority to limit Edwards Aquifer pumping in order to sustain spring flows during times of drought.

Stuart mentored and inspired a dozen or more lawyers to choose a life of defending the water, air, land, wildlife, and rural communities of Texas. Stuart nurtured the founding of the Save Our Springs movement, later serving as SOS Alliance Board Chair. Henry gave SOS Executive Director Bill Bunch his first job in law, insisting that Bill show up for the interview in a t-shirt, swim suit, and flip flops rather than take the time to go home to change clothes. The dress code stuck and continues to this day at the SOS office.

"Barton Springs Eternal" Remastered All-Star Recording

Exhumed from the archives! We're happy to present this 1992 epic legendary all-star recording of Austin's music community coming together to sing the praises of The Soul of Austin, Barton Springs.

Featuring the talents of Bill Oliver, Bob Livingston, Jerry Jeff Walker, Marcia Ball, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Ponty Bone, Paul Pearcy, Steven Fromholz, Joe Ely, John Inmon, David Halley, Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Doug Powell, Bobby Bridger, Tomas Ramirez, Riley Osbourn, and Mitch WatkinsChorus: all of the above plus:Aunt Pearl (Joe Sears), Didi Snavely (Jaston Williams) of Greater Tuna, Susan Lindfore, Christine Albert, Connie Hancock, Tommy Pierce, Monty Montgomery, Jim Ellinger (Wheatsville), Jeri Arsenault, Cecelia Nasti & Bryan Beck (KGSR radio), Jenny Clark (ACTV), Helen Ballew (Hill Country Foundation), Jennie Hamilton (SOS Coalition) - "Barton Springs Eternal" is now available for download from our new Bandcamp page:

Grab the song in any file format you like for as little as a dollar - all proceeds from the sales of this track go to Save Our Springs Alliance and Save Barton Creek Association to support our round-the-clock work to preserve our clean water and the Austin way of life.