A developer plans to release up to 4 million gallons of treated wastewater into Helotes Creek every day. Landowners and environmentalists are pushing back.
HELOTES, Texas — Grey Forest landowners are celebrating their first victory against a developer seeking to dump millions of gallons of treated sewer into Helotes Creek every day.
On Wednesday, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) cleared the way for a court battle.
It comes after Lennar Corporation applied for a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that would support nearly 3,000 homes on 1,100 acres of land in northwest Bexar County. If approved, the Guajalote Ranch development would release up to 4 million gallons of treated wastewater into the creek daily.
Over the past year, the proposed project has received a lot of backlash from residents, environmentalists and municipalities.
Lynette Munson’s family owns more than 100 acres of land next to the proposed subdivision.
“We have extended family on this land,” said Munson. “The creek impacts all of us. We have been on this land for about 150 years. We have always tried to be good stewards of our property, not just for us, but for our wildlife. It’s not like we are wide-eyed environmentalist. We are simple families wanting to make sure that we have a clean water supply. That’s not just for our family, it’s for everyone downstream.”
Natural springs feed Helotes Creek on Munson’s property.
“My great-great-grandfather always said the reason he purchased this land is because the headwaters started on his property,” she said. “During the wet season, if we have the springs where water is coming up, then that effluent water is therefore going down.”
It would end up in Munson’s shallow wells, which her family relies on for drinking water.
“I think it would impact all San Antonians, frankly,” said Annalisa Peace, the executive director of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA).
Peace says the treated wastewater would flow through the aquifer’s recharge zone, degrading the water quality. Nearly 2 million people in Bexar County get their drinking water from the Edwards Aquifer.
“The water that SAWS pumps from the Edwards Aquifer is not pretreated,” said Peace. “So, anything that goes into that water via Helotes Creek we end up drinking. That’s why we fight so hard for this – because the aquifer is so clean right now that we have the luxury of pumping it and distributing it without pretreatment.”
“In terms of PFAS, emerging contaminants and pharmaceuticals, there’s not a set regulation at the moment in terms of getting that treated to a certain level for wastewater,” added Nathan Glavy, a technical director at GEAA.
In Austin, TCEQ commissioners voted to grant a contested case hearing for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, GEAA and Munson’s family.
“It’s a great victory that’s in our favor, but the fight is still on,” Glavy said.
An administrative judge will hear their case within the next six months. Regardless of the judge’s ruling, though, TCEQ commissioners will make the ultimate decision on whether to grant the permit.
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