Leander application to discharge waste into Highland Lakes opposed by Travis County Commissioners Court

By Mary Tuma Wednesday, 28 October 2009

On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted in opposition to a rule that would repeal Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regulations against waste discharges into Lake Austin, Lake Travis and the watersheds.

The proposed petition, submitted by the City of Leander and the City of Granite Shoals, would have repealed a 1986 rule that prevents municipal wastewater treatment facilities from discharging treated effluent into the Highland Lakes.

Written by Commissioner Karen Huber, the resolution is meant to preserve the health, safety and purity of the water as well as protect the county’s residential and commercial property value.

“When individual communities petition to make changes that can have potential adverse impacts beyond their jurisdictions, it is important to consider those impacts to the region as a whole,” Huber said.

“Likewise, when population growth stretches the resources of small communities and their capacity to deal with issues like wastewater, it is time to ask ourselves if we shouldn’t begin to look at how to solve these problems as a region, rather that locally.”

The Lower Colorado River Authority issued a environmental model study this year predicting the adverse effects on surface water quality of Lake Travis if wastewater discharges are allowed.

Additionally, the resolution found the 2007 Texas Water Plan conservation strategies to be “much more effective” in achieving the region’s future water needs.