Check out the fun from Sunday's Barton Springs Bridge 100th Birthday Celebration. Images members of the Bat City Brass Band leading a parade from the pool to the bridge, Bill Oliver and the Otter Space Band on a floating stage under the bridge, and our many friends who helped celebrate this beautiful Austin landmark. 

Travis County is being asked to commit $649 million in County property-tax incentives toward the proposed Dog’s Head TIRZ, part of a public subsidy package exceeding $2.2 billion for a private development agreement negotiated behind closed doors and rushed through City of Austin approval.
The current agreement locks in extraordinary development rights for 45 years across roughly 2,614 acres of Colorado River frontage, while weakening basic protections for nearby residents, water quality, and floodplains. And it abandons the long-standing Colorado River Corridor Plan’s vision for environmental restoration along one of the most ecologically diverse stretches of urban river. Check out this article in the Austin Chronicle about the environmental community’s response to this disastrous decision by the Austin City Council. 
Please attend the Wednesday County meeting (700 Lavaca Street, 1st Floor, Austin, TX 78701) and urge Travis County officials to reject any County participation in the Dog’s Head TIRZ, tax abatement, or other incentive unless the current Development Agreement is withdrawn and replaced through a transparent public process.
You can sign up to speak on Item 20, here: https://www.traviscountytx.gov/commissioners-court. Registration is open until 8am on Wednesday. We anticipate the item will be heard in the afternoon but cannot guarantee timing.

The wait is over! Barton Springs Pool reopened today, and we hope you have a chance for a refreshing dip in one of Austin's greatest treasures this week. 
The recent rains have been a welcome drench after years of drought. According to Austin Watershed Protection Conservation Program Supervisor Nathan Bendik, this was the first flood-related pool drawdown since October 2021. It's a remarkable reminder of just how dry Central Texas has been and how important every soaking rain is for our creeks, springs, and aquifer.
Enjoy the cool, clear water this week, and as always, thank you for helping us protect the springs we all need to stay cool in these unbearable Texas summers.
Happy swimming!
 SOS Alliance

Hays Commons Development Agreement Rejected 

On Tuesday, June 9th, the Hays County Commissioners voted 3-1 to reject the proposed Development Agreement for Hays Commons, a massive residential and commercial subdivision proposed over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, along the Hays County border with Travis County. We are grateful for the over 70 individuals who took action by writing in comments or speaking at the commissioners court meeting. We are also especially appreciative of Judge Ruben Becerra, Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, and Commissioner Morgan Hammer who voted against the agreement. If approved, it would have allowed the developer variances to maximize the development intensity of its project and helped unlock the developer’s plans to spray treated effluent on 60+ acres of the Recharge Zone. 

This “win” is just one chapter in the ongoing efforts to prevent the overdevelopment of these environmentally sensitive lands.

The developer has repeatedly sought to maximize profits at the expense of the community's groundwater, and this rejection by the Hays County Commissioners Court sends a clear message that such practices won’t be rewarded. We will continue to monitor the situation, share updates, and encourage residents to stay engaged and take action. As you may already be aware, Save Our Springs, City of Hays, and Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District remain involved in an active contested permitting process, where the developer is trying to get TCEQ approval to use the Recharge Zone as a wastewater disposal field. We need help funding scientific experts to defend the aquifer.
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If you can contribute, please do so by donating below. Every little bit helps. 

Happy 100th Birthday, Barton Springs Bridge!

For 100 years, the Barton Springs Bridge has connected generations of Austinites to Barton Springs Pool, Zilker Park, music festivals, family outings, first dates, protest marches, bike rides, and summer swims. 
Join us on Sunday, June 21st, 2026, as we celebrate the bridge's first century, and gather the community that loves it.

Morning Celebration    9:00 AM - Noon (and throughout the day) 
Start with a swim at the springs and then, at the Barton Springs bridge, enjoy coffee, tacos, birthday banner making, community art and sign making, and some sing alongs. We invite artists and photographers to spend the day, or part of it, painting and photographing the bridge and its beautiful Barton Creek environs.  Neighbors, historians, swimmers, cyclists, advocates, and park lovers are all invited to honor one of Austin's most beloved landmarks.  We'll be admiring and teaching the amazing history of this leading feature of the Zilker Park National Register Historic District and how you can help us save the bridge for another century throughout the day. 
Bring your family, your friends, your memories, and your best birthday wishes!

Evening Celebration    5 - 9 PM
Return for an evening of music, stories, and community featuring Bill Oliver and the Otter Space Band, along with bridge history and opportunities to help us save this historic treasure from demolition and replacement with a much larger highway-style bridge.

There will be plenty of time to visit, listen, learn, and celebrate beneath the arches that have framed a century of Austin life.
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For 100 years, the Barton Springs Bridge has stood watch over Barton Creek while millions of people pass above, below, and through the heart of Zilker Park. Hidden from many drivers are the views that have made the bridge one of Austin's most beautiful and admired, photographed, painted, paddled-under, and beloved places.
The Barton Springs Bridge has carried Austin across Barton Creek for 100 years. Come help us celebrate the first hundred, and help ensure it's here for the next hundred.

Tell Local Leaders: Save the Bridge 
This year's celebration comes at a pivotal moment. Just last week, Preservation Texas named the Barton Springs Bridge one of Texas's Most Endangered Places for 2026, recognizing its historic significance and the threat posed by plans to replace it. The Barton Springs Bridge was recognized for its engineering significance, historic integrity, and central role in Austin's cultural landscape. Designed by pioneering Texas engineer Terrell Bartlett and completed in 1926, the open-spandrel reinforced concrete arch bridge stands strong today, safe for drivers, pedestrians, paddlers, cyclists, and Zilker Eagle train riders.    

Please start today in helping us save the historic Barton Springs Bridge by signing this online petition directed to our Mayor, City Council members, and other key officials urging them to restore the bridge and maintain it -- which city documents show can be done for millions of dollars less than tearing the bridge down and replacing it with a new bridge twice as wide.  This proposed massive demolition and reconstruction project would do real damage to Barton Creek aquatic and riparian habitats, Zilker Park, the historic Umlauf Sculpture Garden home, art studio, and hillside, and to the Vara Daniel archeological district that encompasses the site.  
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We'll keep you informed of key public meetings coming up later in the summer and fall where we hope you will attend and speak up for saving this special historic, cultural, and park treasure. Together, we can show our officials that Austin's future requires saving and honoring our parks and historic places.  

Meet the 2026 Summer Outreach Interns 

The SOS summer interns are back :)
This summer, Save Our Springs is excited to welcome a new team of outreach interns who are advancing our mission through community outreach and environmental education. The biggest part of their job? Hanging out at Barton Springs! Our interns spend the weekends at the springs, chatting with the community about aquifers, water policy, and their favorite Barton creatures (and signing folks up for our membership drive).

Interns are also encouraged to create a special project for Save Our Springs, on a topic close to their heart. This year, we have topics such as data center water usage, sociological studies of the public’s perception of environmental issues, and case studies on specific SOS campaigns. From documentaries to zines, our interns are finding their own ways to connect with SOS’s mission to protect the Edwards Aquifer. 

Speaking about that membership drive, this is the perfect opportunity to become a member of SOS. Memberships are the best and easiest way to help Save Our Springs. When we advocate for the water, we are advocating on behalf of our members. Your membership becomes another voice to preserve our water systems, and while one voice may be overlooked, many voices can create change.

A membership is as easy as a donation ($10 minimum) and a current mailing address. Not sure if you’re already a member?  Renewing is just as easy with a new donation and updated contact information. Member support makes programs like our internship program possible, helping train and inspire the next generation of Central Texas conservation leaders. 
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We invite you to meet this year's internship team at the South Gate at Barton Springs, and tell them why protecting Barton Springs is important to you. Ask them about any projects they’re working on, grab a new t-shirt, and become a member of Save Our Springs.

We hope you'll join us in the coming days and weeks in person. Celebrate a bridge that has carried Austin for 100 years. Meet our interns and share why Barton Springs matters to you. Remember the people who helped protect the Hill Country that are no longer with us. 

If you've been meaning to get more involved, this is your invitation. 

We'll see you at the springs. 

In Solidarity,
SOS Alliance