Effluent may be headed toward Barton Springs portion of aquifer

By Asher Price
AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality could decide today to award a Hill Country subdivision the first permit to discharge treated wastewater into a creek that feeds the Barton Springs portion of the Edwards Aquifer.

The water control and improvement district associated with the Belterra subdivision applied to the state environmental office more than three years ago for permission to expand its wastewater treatment plant, hoping to discharge some treated wastewater into Bear Creek, which feeds Barton Springs. Under state standards and district plans, the effluent, which would be treated through a combination of gravity and chemical processes, should be clean enough to fish or swim in by the time it is discharged.

The district says it needs an expanded treatment plant to cope with increased sewage as the area develops: About 735 homes have been built at Belterra, developed by Calif.-based Makar Properties, and 2,000 homes total are planned for the property.

In November, a pair of administrative law judges recommended that the environmental office approve the discharge permit, which incorporates terms from a settlement agreement between the district and some neighbors and government entities that had opposed the permit.

The agreement will minimize the "effect on water quality and ecology in the creek, in the aquifer and in Barton Springs," said Kirk Holland, the general manager for the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, which had opposed the permit. "The magnitude of the problem is reduced greatly, but there's always a risk of some upset condition and poorly treated water getting into the creek. And our primary concern is that it sets a precedent for other developments that say, 'Well, if Belterra can discharge into Bear Creek, we can discharge into Little Bear Creek or Onion Creek or Slaughter Creek.'"

Neighbors downstream of the subdivision, which is east of Dripping Springs, said the effluent could contaminate their well water and cause algae blooms that eventually would choke Bear Creek of oxygen for aquatic life. A handful of governmental entities that had opposed the permit said it put water quality in the Barton Springs portion of the aquifer at risk, especially if the treatment system should ever malfunction.

But last summer, citing mounting legal fees and the possibility of an unsympathetic ruling from the state environmental commission, some of those government entities — the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, the Lower Colorado River Authority and the City of Dripping Springs — decided to drop their opposition and sign the settlement agreement.

It would allow the plant to discharge treated sewage water only if certain criteria are met, including a minimum flow level in Bear Creek. The agreement also limited the discharge into the creek to 350,000 gallons a day. The water control and improvement district has estimated that it would discharge effluent about 20 times a year.

Currently, the district disposes of its treated wastewater through subsurface drip irrigation on about 35 fenced-off acres. If the permit, which calls for stringent treatment standards, is approved, the district will continue using the bulk of its effluent to spray-irrigate open space instead of discharging into Bear Creek, according to Andy Barrett, a lawyer for the district.

The City of Austin and Hays County remain opposed to the permit, as do some downstream landowners. "We felt like it was not protective enough to the creek," said Barbara Stroud, who has land fronting Bear Creek. She said she is considering challenging a permit in court if it's granted by the state environmental agency.

Barrett said the discharge plan will not harm water quality and "sets a very good precedent." "We don't think it poses any danger," he said.