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San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Sunday toured the area of Helotes Creek that could be affected by a large development planned in northwest Bexar County.
Members of the Scenic Loop - Helotes Creek Alliance and Grey Forest Mayor Paul Garro gave Nirenberg a tour of the area where a planned Lennar subdivision could dump a million gallons a day of treated wastewater into Helotes Creek.
Lennar plans to build around 3,000 homes on 1,100 acres of the Guajolote Ranch off Scenic Loop Road near Babcock.
Nirenberg reflected on what he saw after the tour while standing on a scenic overlook at Madla Park in Helotes.
“What struck me seeing it firsthand is just how many hundreds of years of history and families have been the guardians of San Antonio’s water security," said Nirenberg. "But it's why this fight for Guajolote Ranch and the purity of the water that goes into Helotes Creek is so important for millions of residents who depend on the Edwards Aquifer.”
The Guajolote subdivision would be required to build its own Class-A water treatment plant.
According to the Scenic Loop - Helotes Alliance, a study by the Southwest Research Institute funded through the city of San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan found that any type of wastewater system releasing treated effluent in the Helotes Creek watershed could “significantly degrade the watershed and the quality of water recharging the Edwards Aquifer.”
The Helotes Creek watershed directly recharges the Trinity Glen Rose Aquifer, the primary water source in the immediate area.
It sits atop the contributing zone leading to the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, the principal source of drinking water for about 2 million people across the region. Up to 15% of the entire recharge of the Edwards Aquifer comes from that watershed.
Nirenberg's visit comes in advance of a contested case hearing on a wastewater permit for the project.
The City of Grey Forest and landowner Ann Toepperwein were granted the contested case hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The SOAH is expected to send its decision to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for consideration by late May.
The hearings will be be streamed live beginning on Tuesday morning.
