Major progress on the Blanco River in Blanco
Last week, the City of Blanco took some major steps towards responsible management of its wastewater. Specifically, the City Council voted to double their storage pond capacity, seek out customers who want to use treated wastewater for irrigation and other purposes, and authorize the Blanco Water Reclamation Task Force to explore One Water pathways for the city. These measures help ensure Blanco will not be in the position of having to dump their wastewater into the Blanco River now and in the future. The City Council did not withdraw its pending permit application to discharge wastewater into the Blanco River, but SOS and our allies in this effort, Protect Our Blanco and Wimberley Valley Watershed Assn., are hopeful the City Council will do that in the near future.  Stay tuned. 
Big win on the Blanco River in Kyle 
Last week visiting senior Judge Margaret Mirabal reinstated a lawsuit by Save Our Springs Alliance against the City of Kyle challenging the City's approval of a 101 page development agreement covering over 3000 acres of land on the banks of the Blanco River allowing essentially carte blanche unregulated development of the land for up to 50 years.  The development agreement was approved with almost zero notice to the public and with no time for Kyle City Council members to even read the agreement.  If allowed to stand, the agreement also requires the City to heavily subsidize the development, including helping fund construction of a new bridge across the Blanco River.  Judge Mirabal had previously granted the City's attorneys' request to dismiss the lawsuit; she reversed that earlier order in response to SOS's motion to reconsider the prior ruling. 
There's still a long way to go, but we have a strong case that a City Council cannot under Texas law give away its regulatory powers to private landowners or bind future city councils to approve and subsidize whatever a landowner wants to build.   ​

Comment Period Extended to May 20th on Permit to Discharge Treated Sewage into a Barton Creek Tributary
It’s not too late to submit comments on the draft discharge permit that would allow a private developer to discharge up to 45,000 gallons per day into the Long Branch tributary of Barton Creek.
 
The comment period has been extended until May 20th at 5 pm.
TCEQ has received over 700 comments so far, all opposing the draft permit. Let’s keep the pressure up! If you haven’t submitted comments yet, see our talking points for inspiration. 
 
And thank you to everyone who has already submitted comments! 
 
To submit a written comment to TCEQ: Go to this online link: https://www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/, and enter permit number: WQ0015594001.
 
And thank you to those who attended Tuesday’s virtual public meeting on the draft permit, at which citizens were able to ask questions of the applicant and TCEQ staff. About 60 people participated, and 25 gave formal public comment.  The comments were inspiring, informative, and united in their OPPOSITION to this draft permit.
 
Joining Save Our Springs in opposing the draft permit are the Cities of Austin and Dripping Springs, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Lower Colorado River Authority, Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, Save Barton Creek Association, Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, the Polo Club Neighborhood Association, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard, and ~700 citizens who have submitted public comment. 

Suggested Talking Points:
I oppose the draft permit (No. WQ0015594001) that would allow wastewater discharge into Long Branch Tributary of Barton Creek and urge TCEQ to deny this permit.
The proposed discharge would convert Long Branch, a clear, swimmable creek, into a wastewater-dominated conduit of pollution into Barton Creek.
The health of recreational users of Long Branch and Barton Creek could be threatened by elevated bacteria, algal blooms, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products.
The effluent threatens the sensitive aquatic species that have adapted to high-quality waters, including the federally endangered Barton Springs Salamander and Austin Blind Salamander.
The proposed discharge will degrade the water quality of our two major aquifers, the Edwards and the Trinity and thousands of well-owners and residents who rely on them for their drinking water.
TCEQ failed to model or analyze the effects of the proposed discharge on the receiving creeks, repeating the same mistakes that a Travis County District Court found unlawful in last year’s decision overturning the Dripping Springs discharge permit into Onion Creek. 

Please Attend: Community Meeting to Stop Concrete Batch Plant in Oak Hill

On Saturday, April 17th at 10:30am, Rep. Vikki Goodwin will be hosting a community meeting to discuss TxDOT's plan to build a concrete batch plant at the ACC Pinnacle Campus in Southwest Austin. This concrete batch plant would provide concrete for TxDOT’s planned 12-lane mega-highway expansion of the SH 71 and US 290 intersection, through the heart of Oak Hill.

Despite drastically changed community patterns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and two ongoing lawsuits from environmental stakeholders, TxDOT is forging ahead with the highway expansion project and is set to begin construction this year.

Adding injury to injury, in early March, news broke that a TxDOT contractor, Colorado River Constructors, intends to build a concrete batch plant on the ACC Pinnacle Campus. News of the concrete batch plant location came as a shock to community leaders, as the Austin Community College Board of Trustees approved the negotiations and execution of a five-year lease with the TxDOT contractor, with no mention of the concrete batch plant on their agenda or in the related backup materials.

Because this site is immediately adjacent to several homes and apartments, neighbors of the facility have expressed concerns about the human health consequences of living with such a close proximity to a batch plant (such as respiratory diseases and certain cancers). 

Help Needed from Austin City Council
On Thursday, April 8th, representatives of the Save Our Springs Alliance, Save Barton Creek Association, and Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods went to the Austin City Council to request help and intervention. On their agenda, the Austin City Council was being asked to consider the initiation of three eminent domain cases to move utilities to make way for the highway expansion. SOS and others asked that the Austin City Council deny or otherwise postpone these items until TxDOT finds a suitable alternative location for the concrete batch plant.

Unfortunately, the Austin City Council narrowly passed those items on a 6-3-2 vote. The Save Our Springs Alliance thanks Council Members Leslie Pool, Kathie Tovo, MacKenzie Kelly, Greg Casar, and Ann Kitchen for opposing or abstaining from their approval. 

That said, the fight isn't over. 

The Save Our Springs Alliance and Save Barton Creek Association are continuing to pursue their lawsuits related to TxDOT's failure to comply with federal environmental requirements. And, we will continue to demand that the City of Austin enforce its zoning and environmental regulations on the ACC Pinnacle Campus, which might prevent that site from being used for this noxious, industrial use.
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In the meantime, we encourage our members to reach out to their elected leaders requesting that the fight for an alternative location for the concrete batch plant and demand that TxDOT adjust the design of the highway to scale back the environmental damage associated with the highway project

You may have seen the news; a developer has proposed a massive redevelopment plan for the Brodie Oaks Shopping Center at South Lamar and Loop 360, adjacent to the Barton Creek greenbelt. The proposed concept plan includes over 1500 apartments, 1.1 million square feet in office space, 450 hotel rooms, 110,000 square feet of retail space, and 30,000 square feet of restaurant space.

This is one of the largest projects we have seen proposed over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone in recent years, and it is—by far—the largest project submitted under the redevelopment exception applicable to the Save Our Springs Initiative Ordinance. Given the scale of this project and its proximity to Barton Creek, Save Our Springs will be reviewing the project scrupulously with the aim of protecting and enhancing water quality.
We have met with the applicant multiple times and have recently submitted comments to the City of Austin based on the applicant’s Development Assessment.
Because the 30+ acres of existing pavement of the site were built before the adoption of the SOS Ordinance, reducing the amount of impervious cover on site, increasing creek setbacks, and treating the stormwater runoff generated on the site to a non-degradation standard should be a priority for the City and anyone else interested in the health of Barton Creek, Barton Springs, and the Edwards Aquifer. We are pleased to see that the applicant has included these elements in its proposal.

That said, the applicant has requested unprecedented levels of entitlements in South Austin under the City’s Planned Unit Development (“PUD”) zoning process. The PUD process requires that the applicant achieve true superiority, beyond which could be achieved under existing code. Elements of superiority for a project such as this should include community benefits such as long-term stewardship for the Barton Creek greenbelt and trail, on-site water conservation and reuse strategies, and income-restricted housing.

At this point in time, it is way too early for the SOS Alliance to take a formal position. Right now, the applicant has only submitted a development assessment, which is just the first step in a lengthy public input process that will include hearings at the Environmental Commission, Planning Commission, and City Council. Conversations around this project will be part of our community for the next several months, as it advances its way through the public input process.
The SOS Alliance has encouraged the developer to reach out to the neighborhoods most impacted by the project, including the Barton Hills and South Lamar Neighborhood Associations, to get their thoughts. And, as we continue to review this project, the SOS Alliance will be working to coordinate our review and response to the project with those neighborhoods as well.

If you have additional comments you would like us to consider or would like to share your thoughts, please do not hesitate to contact SOS Staff Attorney Bobby Levinski at [email protected].
 
 

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Dear Springs Defenders:
Take the Zilker Park survey:  If you enjoy Barton Springs and Zilker Park, please take a few minutes to take this Austin Parks Department initial survey that kicks off the City’s “vision plan” process for Zilker Park.   SOS supports restoring Zilker Park’s natural and cultural heritage, reducing pavement and commercialization, and improving public transit access to the park.  PARD public engagement for the City’s “Our Parks, Our Future” Long Range Plan shows that park favorites are trails, nature, and water features.  (See PDF page 16 summary of public input for the City’s parks Long Range Plan.) 
However, there is tremendous pressure to further develop, commercialize and privatize our public parks, including Zilker Park. The battle over the illegal parking lot, built by ACL without PARD permission, but which remains in the park today, is just one of many issues that will be addressed in this year’s Zilker park planning process.  Let your voice be heard in this initial survey and throughout the planning process.  Stay tuned!
Hays Transportation Plan public comment, round two:  Hays County is inviting a second round of public comment on its draft updated transportation plan, through February 7th.  The largest part of the Barton Springs watershed that is neither developed nor protected is found in western Hays County.  Hays residents have voted time and again for more land and water protection, while opposing new and expanded roads designed to serve more unmanaged growth that threatens the Edwards Aquifer with pollution and overpumping. 
Yet the draft Hays Transportation Plan continues to call for hundreds of millions (probably billions) of taxpayer dollars to be spent on new and expanded roadway construction in the Edwards Aquifer watershed based on unfounded population growth projections.  Hays County is one of the fasting growing counties in the nation.  But the vast majority of that growth is taking place along and east of I-35, in the Buda/Kyle/San Marcos corridor, downstream of the recharge zone.  That’s where public dollars for transportation capacity should go. 
Western Hays County should be kept forever green, with public dollars invested in buying more conservation lands and easements. Roadways should be designated “conservation roads,” with a focus on safety, scenic beauty, and watershed protection, not capacity expansion.  It really is cheaper to save western Hays County, than it is to pave it.  It’s time to stop using our own tax dollars to further pollute and pave over critical watersheds for Barton Springs and San Marcos Springs.  
You can view SOS’s detailed public comments from the first round here and here, and view the proposed county plan update and make your own comments for the second round here.
For reference, here are the short comments we entered on the current survey:
“Please do not significantly expand capacity or build new roads in western Hays County, above and upstream of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.  Designate existing roads in the Edwards Aquifer watershed as "conservation roads," with safety, scenic beauty, and water protection as the priority.  Buy more conservation lands and easements to minimize growth, keeping western Hays County forever green.  Expand transportation capacity downstream of the recharge zone, along and east of I-35, in the Buda/Kyle/San Marcos corridor, where most of Hays County growth is going and where transportation investments are needed most.” 

Take a 3 springs tour and help us continue to educate through Barton Springs University
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​When you visit Barton Springs Pool, did you know that the pool is fed from an underground spring, also known as Parthenia Spring, located just west of the diving board? It is through this spring that water from Edwards Aquifer fills Barton Springs Pool.

​There are other springs that flow from the Edwards Aquifer that are part of Barton Springs. Join the Save Our Springs Guides for a fascinating video tour of Parthenia, Eliza, and Zenobia Springs and discover the amazing “Barton Springs complex” right here in the heart of our city! 
This video was produced by Save Our Springs as part of our online Barton Springs University Day this year.  We have expanded Barton Springs University to a continual program of community education for students and interested citizens. This includes our Barton Springs 101 presentation; our very popular snorkeling and walking eco tours of Barton Springs, Barton Creek and the greenbelt; and “Spring Kids”,a camp of adventure and education at Barton Springs and Barton Creek, culminating in the 2021 Barton Springs University Day at Barton Springs Pool in September.    
Barton Springs pool is more popular than ever as newcomers and tourists flock to the cool waters of the soul of our city -- expected attendance will be 1 million this year.  As more and more people move to the Austin area, we are challenged to educate newcomers about the importance and vulnerability of our local home waters. 
Please make a tax deductible donation to SOS today to help us continue and grow Barton Springs University.   More than ever, we need to re-engage and educate longtime citizens and inspire young people to care about environmental sustainability in Central Texas.  ​

In consultation with Austin Public Health and City leadership, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department will not open Barton Springs Pool on January 1, 2021 (New Year’s Day), and the 2021 Polar Bear Plunge event is canceled.
 
This decision was made after careful consideration of the local characteristics of the virus and related community priorities. It's been determined that this event should not proceed during Stage 4: COVID-19: Risk-Based Guidelines.

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department would like to commemorate the Polar Bear Plunge, and asks prior attendees share photos/videos of past events on social media using the hashtag #polarplungeatx.

The Department hopes for a return to this time-honored tradition in 2022 while this year Austinites share their memories of prior Plunges. 
 
For more information on City pool schedules, visit austintexas.gov/pools. 

 Dear Friend of the Springs,
 
We hope that during this year of pandemic and political turmoil you have found some relief outdoors, reconnecting with nature, both wild and urban. It’s been a challenge, with Barton Springs, the San Marcos and Comal Rivers closed to the public for much of the summer, and our parks and greenbelts closed or restricted in access. Just when we needed some nature therapy the most, our opportunities were limited. 
 
Like everyone, SOS Alliance adapted. We suspended our Barton Springs University (BSU) hiking and snorkeling eco-tours. Our flagship Barton Springs University day of outdoor learning at Barton Springs moved online, with both live and recorded presentations and videos. Advocacy moved online. With warm fall weather, and our springs and greenbelts reopening, we’ve made up for some lost time with swims and hikes with our own “pod” of close family and friends.
 
While it hasn’t rained much outside, the last month poured good news for our Hill Country waters—made possible by years of hard work and the generous support of thousands of Save Our Springs friends like you. Please donate again today if you are able, so that, together, we will keep our springs clean and flowing. 
 
On October 27th SOS launched the Barton Springs University 2020 Event online with an inspiring live keynote address and musical performance by Dr. Robert Mace, the Executive Director of Texas State University’s Meadows Center for Water and the Environment. 
 
Other event presentations include SOS produced videos: A Three Springs Tour; Toxic Blue-Green Algae; and Beyond Yuck! Human Waste and Clean Water in Central Texas. The BSU website is now a resource of both SOS original and curated “best of” videos from other sources on the science, history, culture, and policy challenges of protecting our home waters in the face of rapid urban growth and a warming climate.  
 
You can view all of these anytime at BartonSpringsUniversity.org. We need your help to continue to grow BSU in 2021 into a full year of presentations, eco-tours, kid camps and other educational events.  
 
That same day we released a study by Baylor biology professor Ryan King on the biology and chemistry of four Hill Country streams threatened by proposed municipal wastewater discharges. Commissioned by SOS in early 2019, Dr. King’s research opens a window into the secret life of our crystal-clear streams, and what happens to that life when even a small amount of treated sewage is discharged into these streams. Dr. King’s study and a short video are at the BSU website. 
 
Two days later, Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble struck down a permit authorizing Dripping Springs to discharge its treated sewage into Onion Creek. The permit had been issued by TCEQ, our state version of EPA, despite the fact that Onion Creek is the largest source of recharge waters for Barton Springs. SOS and TCEQ attorneys argued our appeal of the permit remotely in June. Judge Guerra Gamble’s letter ruling spells out how TCEQ has violated the Clean Water Act in failing to protect our State’s pristine rivers and streams from wastewater discharges.
 
This decision establishes a powerful precedent that will help us keep wastewater out of Onion Creek, Barton Creek, the Blanco River, and all of our mostly pristine Hill Country streams. The Judge’s ruling reminds our state regulators, in terms as clear as the water, that Congress’s goals to “maintain and restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity” of, and eliminate discharges to, our Nation’s waters must guide all of TCEQ’s permitting decisions. 
 
TCEQ’s lawyers at the Texas Attorney General’s office, along with Dripping Springs, have appealed this ruling. We need your generous support to defend this important decision—and to make sure it is followed across the Hill Country today, tomorrow, and in the years ahead. 
 
The following week, our Hill Country land, water, and wildlife won big at the voting polls. Seventy percent (70%) of Hays County voters supported a $75 million parks and open space bond that will protect thousands of acres in the Barton Springs and San Marcos Springs watersheds. These lands include key tracts on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone that SOS has worked for more than six years to protect in partnership with the San Marcos River Foundation. 
 
The success of the Biden/Harris ticket means that the Trump administration’s assault on our air, land, water, wildlife, the climate, and environmental science can be reversed. New leadership at the EPA and the Department of Interior can make a major difference here in the Hill Country.   
 
These are just a few of the highlights of the year. With your support, and often tips from concerned citizens, SOS’s small staff of environmental advocates and educators work every day to fend off threats and seize opportunities that will protect our Hill Country home. 
 
Please take a few minutes to review SOS’s accomplishments for the year (on the back of this letter).  If you are able, please make a generous tax-deductible donation to the Save Our Springs Alliance.  You can make an online donation by visiting our website at SOSAlliance.org . Your donation will be matched $1 for every $2 donated. 
 
Our rapid urban growth continues unabated. Your support is critical to our work to manage this growth and to protect our water and critical watershed lands before it’s too late. 
 
Thank you for your past support and for your consideration. We hope to see you soon, safely distanced, for a swim or hike. Meanwhile, please call us or email at [email protected] if you have any questions or suggestions about our work.
 
Warm wishes for the holiday season,
 
Save Our Springs Alliance Board and Staff
 
 
P.S.  You may donate online at SOSAlliance.org. You can sign up to receive our SOS email news here.  It is the best way to stay informed about our work and important Hill Country environmental news. 

With the support of our members and our community partners, 2020 has been a busy and productive year for Save Our Springs.
​Here are some of our accomplishments:

In 2020, our team of attorneys took several important legal and policy-based actions to address some of our region’s most urgent environmental challenges:

• SOS won a major court victory in October that threw out the City of Dripping Springs permit to discharge its treated sewage into Onion Creek.  The City must now continue irrigating and reusing its treated wastewater, keeping it out of Onion Creek, the Edwards Aquifer, and Barton Springs. 
• Our legal success blocking the Dripping Springs wastewater permit, together with studies by Baylor biology professor Ryan King, will help us block a similar proposal by the City of Blanco to discharge its treated sewage into the Blanco River -- and to keep treated sewage out of a Barton Creek tributary.    
• As the watchdogs for the Edwards Aquifer, SOS attorneys reached agreement with multiple developers, including the owners of the notorious “Lantana” development off Southwest Parkway, to improve their projects’ water quality standards and to dedicate land for permanent conservation;
• SOS successfully helped convince the City of Austin to use eminent domain to save an environmentally sensitive 11.9-acre site along the banks of Bull Creek, which will prevent a hotel from encroaching upon critical water quality zones and endangered species habitat;
• SOS worked with our water conservation allies to advance “Water Forward” code amendments requiring new developments to incorporate water efficiency and on-site reuse in their projects. 
• SOS brought suit against the City of Kyle for entering into an illegal contract with a developer that allows the developer to pave thousands of acres of land over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone and puts Kyle taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars for infrastructure costs; and
• To safeguard the Barton Springs Salamander and other species that call Barton Springs home, SOS has won motions to preserve its ongoing litigation against a proposal to excavate an Astrodome-sized amount of sediment from the recharge and contributing zones of the Edwards Aquifer, as part of TxDOT’s planned expansion of US 290/SH 71 in Oak Hill (aka the “Oak Hill Parkway”).
• SOS has and continues to work with local leaders and a wide range of allies to advocate for innovative solutions to address our traffic and mobility issues while protecting our environment, increasing transportation options, and enhancing safety. 

 
Our Outreach Education team produced a successful virtual, online Barton Springs University (BSU) Day in October.  This event featured a live keynote address by Dr. Robert Mace, the Executive Director of Texas State University’s Meadows Center for Water and the Environment along with other new SOS produced videos.  You can view all of these videos in addition to other curated videos anytime at BartonSpringsUniversity.org. 
 
We are now in the planning process to revive our BSU year-long outdoor education program that had to be put on hold during the summer.  We will have our eco snorkeling tours; kids camps, and educational presentations start up again in 2021 culminating with an even bigger and better BSU Day at Barton Springs in September! Stay tuned for more info on these programs through our email news! Sign up at SOSAlliance.org.  

 

Our Hill Country land, water, and wildlife won big at the voting polls.  Seventy percent (70%) of Hays County voters supported a $75 million parks and open space bond that will protect thousands of acres in the Barton Springs and San Marcos Springs watershed.  Thank you voters!!!  These lands include key tracts on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone that SOS and the San Marcos River Foundation have worked for more than six years to protect.  See some of the projects that will be funded with these bonds here.   
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Also, the success of the Biden/Harris ticket means that the Trump administration’s assault on our air, land, water, wildlife, the climate and environmental science can be reversed.  New leadership at the EPA and the Department of Interior can make a major difference here in the Hill Country, across the nation, and around the world.   But we will continue to have to demand action at the local, state and federal levels, while taking action in our personal lives that move us towards a sustainable, healthy future.  Our children, grandchildren, and the generations beyond deserve to know and enjoy the beautiful planet that they have entrusted to us.