October | 2020 | Welcome to Hill Country Alliance

SOS wins; Judge reverses permit that allowed Dripping Springs to discharge into Onion Creek

October 30, 2020
Groundwater Resources

Today, Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble struck down a state permit authorizing the City of Dripping Springs to discharge over 800,000 gallons per day of treated sewage into Onion Creek, a prestine water body that is a recharge source for Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer. The ruling was made in response to an appeal filed by the Save Our Springs Alliance. After the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved Dripping Springs’ requested permit, the SOS…

Annette Lee to present keynote at 2020 global conference

October 30, 2020
News

We are very pleased to announce that Annette Lee will be a keynote speaker at the International Dark-Sky Association 2020 Global Conference. The virtual conference will take place on November 13-14. Sessions will happen across the 24 hour period in three time zones. Annette’s keynote discussion will set the stage for a worldwide conversation about the environmental and cultural threat that light pollution poses to people who have been inadequately represented in the effort to protect the night. The conference…

New spring monitoring program assesses the health of the state’s aquifers

October 30, 2020
Groundwater Resources

Several aquifers across the state are experiencing historic levels of decline; we need to keep track of this so we can ensure that there’s enough water for future Texans. This year, we began a new initiative to monitor a network of springs across the state on an annual basis. In this program, staff will collect water quality samples and flow rate measurements from every spring to determine the amount of water flowing from the aquifer and to verify the source…

Laurels Ranch

October 30, 2020
Conservation Easements

David K. Langford loves the Texas Hill Country land that his family has cherished for five generations. His passion for the land has informed his career as a professional photographer, and he has been a tireless advocate for working lands conservation and private property rights his entire adult life. He was among a small group of private landowners who got their heads together in the 1980s to form the Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) to raise the profile of private land…

More than 9 million Texans have cast a ballot so far, surpassing the state’s total in 2016

October 30, 2020
Legislature and Regulation

The number of voters who cast ballots in the Texas early voting period this year has now surpassed the total number of people who voted in all of 2016. Through Thursday, 9,009,850 have voted so far this year, with one day of early voting left. That amounts to 53% of registered voters. In 2016, 8,969,226 Texans cast a ballot in the presidential race. Texas has added 1.8 million registered voters since the 2016 election, and overall percentage turnout is still…

Imperiled Central Texas mussels bring conservation focus to the San Saba River

October 30, 2020
Drought

Miles down an easy-to-miss dirt road just outside San Saba, Texas, a group of university, non-profit, state and federal researchers has converged on a remote stretch of the San Saba River. A biologist walking along the bank points out empty freshwater mussel shells with quirky names – pimpleback, pistolgrip, papershell – casualties of stranding during a time when the water ran too low. Pointing just a few yards downstream, he indicates a spot where one of their populations washed away…

TESPA Newsletter – Fall 2020

October 30, 2020
Groundwater Resources

In the many decades I have lived in Hays County, the reaction to the multiple threats we face involving our water, aquifers and natural resources is unprecedented. In the past few years, the Kinder Morgan Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP), the Electro Purification (EP), and Needmore groundwater pumping plans have generated immense concern and insecurity among the people who rely on this primary source of drinking water. TESPA is working and collaborating with area landowners, businesses, civic organizations, elected officials and…

As concrete sprawls, Fort Worth plans to spend millions to save land from development

October 30, 2020
Economics of Sound Planning

The land development boom in North Texas has shown no signs of slowing down, even with the significant economic challenges posed by COVID-19. That’s why Fort Worth officials are moving forward with plans to identify and potentially acquire natural areas for preservation before developers buy up the land for housing and retail projects. “We want to really protect these key areas for our future generations, since once it’s gone, you can’t get it back,” said Jennifer Dyke, a city stormwater…

Opinion: Vote for Hays Proposition A, reap benefits for generations to come

October 27, 2020
Economics of Sound Planning

Despite the intense attention races at the top of the ballot have received—and despite the massive voter turnout those races are driving—some of the most important decisions can be found at the bottom of the Hays County ballot. This year, Proposition A seeks to issue $75 million in bonds over the next 10 years to support local parks and green spaces. Proposition A can only benefit the people—and the plants and animals—that call Hays County home. Read more from Toni…

Utility puts off settling lawsuit amid uproar

October 27, 2020
Groundwater Resources

After hearing complaints from environmentalists and residents of Hamilton Pool Road at their meeting Thursday, the board of directors of the West Travis County Public Utility Agency decided to postpone a formal settlement of a lawsuit filed against the board of the utility by the developer Provence and two property owners. News of the proposed settlement was first reported in The Austin Independent. Read more from Jo Clifton with Austin Monitor here.