DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — A milk jug of muddy water accompanied one landowners comments at a meeting Monday night. The brown liquid was meant to represent effluent, wastewater that has been treated and then reused.
The landowner, like others in the Dripping Springs Ranch Park event center, worried that similar water could soon run into the groundwater near the Pedernales River in Hays County.
The meeting was the latest in a series that could soon lead to the construction of Mirasol Springs, a 1,400-acre conservation development in western Travis and Hays counties. Monday night’s meeting opened the floor to public comment regarding a permit, filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), for the construction of a new wastewater treatment facility.
Mirasol Springs, through utility company Clancy Utility Holdings LLC, is requesting the installation of a “public access subsurface area drip dispersal system.”
Details on the system were displayed during the meeting:
- The system is restricted to the disposal of 39,000 gallons of wastewater per day.
- It will be located on 16.2 acres.
- It uses activated sludge, microorganisms that clean wastewater.
- Water will be disinfected with chlorine.
- 180,000 gallons of the cleaned water will be used for irrigation on the property.
None of the effluent will be discharged into the nearby creeks and Pedernales River, according to the plan.
Landowners, who have spoken out against the development in the past, worried the area is too sensitive for any construction. Nearby springs, endangered species and an “untouched” canyon can be found in the surrounding area.
Karst, a type of porous rock that develops in limestone rock, can be seen in the immediate area. Landowners worry that any wastewater at the facility or used in irrigation could drain through this karst to the springs below.
Representatives with Mirasol Springs previously said they have conducted numerous research projects alongside the University of Texas and other experts as part of their planning.
“This is not just an ordinary field, that’s flat This is on a river with sloped topography with karst. It has unique endangered species. This is different, you can’t do what’s normally done,” said one landowner during the formal public comment period.
Scientists working with Mirasol Springs say the area beneath the proposed site has no apparent karst. They plan to track the water quality in the area by placing monitors.
After Monday night’s meeting, formal public comment will be reviewed by the TCEQ. The permit could then be approved or face a formal hearing to debate changes to the plan.