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The San Antonio City Council overwhelmingly quashed two items on the agenda on Thursday related to a controversial proposed subdivision in northwest Bexar County.
The council unanimously voted no on consent for the creation of a Municipal Utility District, or MUD, which would have created a taxing district to finance a water treatment plant on the proposed Guajolote Ranch Subdivision.
Several citizens and experts lined up to speak in opposition to creating the utility district, many citing concerns about previous statements from SAWS on the impact on the Edwards Aquifer.
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Geoscientist Stuart Birnbaum is a retired associate professor at UTSA’s Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
He refuted assertions from SAWS about the structure of the karst features and echoed concerns of other scientists about SAWS interpretation of the relationship between the Trinity and the Edwards Aquifer.
“The science is clear and is clearly being ignored,” he told the council.
“I do not understand why SAWS persists in perpetuating old and largely refuted science,” he added. “Perhaps it is convenient to use a one-size-fits-all approach to aquifer management.
This is both a dangerous and potentially costly error if the Edwards becomes unnecessarily contaminated.”
One of the authors of a 2020 Southwest Research Institute study showing that a development like Guajolote Ranch would degrade the Edwards Aquifer is refuting claims by San Antonio Water System.
Before the votes, councilwoman Phyliss Viagran stated her opposition.
“I also think that it’s a false sense of security and control, to think that we would gain anything in developing this MUD at the city. So for these reasons, I’m going to be against both 4 and 5. Thank you.”
Councilman Edward Mungia spoke against the project.
“Management of the wastewater treatment facility– I just do not think that that belongs there, and that that neighborhood will be equipped to handle the long-term maintenance of that for 30 years plus long after we’re all out of here in office.”
The Council also voted not to approve a development agreement between the city and owners of the property where the subdivision would be located.
Lennar Homes has stated it will continue with its plans to build the subdivision with or without consent from the city of San Antonio.
The proposed water treatment plant would dump as much as one million gallons of treated wastewater per day into Helotes Creek, which opponents say would threaten the water quality of the Edwards Aquifer.
Meanwhile, opponents of the Guajolote Ranch development have filed suit in state district court, claiming numerous errors were made by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before it granted the wastewater permit to Lennar Homes.
