Wastewater Plan Could Put Bear Creek in a Stinky Situation.

Dumping up to 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day into Bear Creek is a horrible idea, at least according to the residence of the area. Hays County Water Control and Improvement District #1 has requested a discharge permit that will allow them to dump up to 500,000 gallons of wastewater into Bear Creek to be able to keep up with current and future development. This could be the first time that discharging of waste water has been allowed in the Barton Springs section of the Edwards Aquifer.

Now at first glance my initial reaction was that of a teenage girl watching a horror movie for the first time. How could they pollute Bear Creek like that? Don't they think of all the wildlife that lives there and the impact it will have on the ecosystem in the area? Apparently I wasn't alone in this thought; the residents of the area have formed a group to protect Bear Creek.

After the initial shock of the whole situation has worn off I decided to dig into the story a little bit more because the article seemed bias after reflecting on what I had read.

According to the Hays County Water Control and Improvement District #1's website the water isn't wastewater so much as treated water. Wastewater gives the impression of steaming untreated sewage flowing out of an oversized pipe and pouring into a fresh lake. Treated water, on the other hand is various types of wastewater that has been cleaned and purified. In fact, the water is required to meet or exceed the state’s safety and quality standards for Type I reclaimed water, deeming it safe for humans and wildlife alike.

The Hays County Water Control and Improvement District also stated that it has no intention of dumping anywhere near 500,000 gallons of reclaimed water a day. The only reason that figure comes into play is because they permit requires them to apply for the worst case scenario amount.

Though [dumping 500,000 gallons a day] almost certainly will never occur, the Water District's responsible plan and scientific analysis is based on that possibility, which adds up to the 500,000 gallon figure.

With everything taken into account, this seems essential in the movement to keep up with current and future development and actually helps the environment by recycling wastewater for irrigation. The people living in the Bear Creek area won't be waist deep in sewage any time soon.

News 8 Article: http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=192580&SecID=2
Hays County Water Control and Improvement District #1: http://hayscountywater.com/

-Gregory