The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA) and the Bulverde Neighborhood Association say they will contest a wastewater permit that would allow South Central Water Company to discharge 600,000 gallons of water a day via pipe into an unnamed ditch leading to Upper Cibolo Creek in Segment No. 1908 of the San Antonio River.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has scheduled a hearing on the permit at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Hampton Inn Bulverde Texas Hill Country, 499 Singing Oaks, Spring Branch.
The proposed wastewater facility would be located approximately 4,300 feet north of the intersection of FM 1863 and Stahl Road. It would serve 330 homes on 125.67 acres within Bulverde City limits.
The deadline for submitting comments on the Diamante Ranch Waste Water Treatment Facility is Thursday. TCEQ’s permit number is WQ0016060001.
In comments submitted in July 2022 on behalf of its members, GEAA Executive Director Annalisa Peace said there are several other Cibolo Creek-area wastewater permits that have been approved or are currently in the TCEQ permit approval process.
“As hundreds of thousands of gallons per day of effluent become millions of gallons per day, with each new permit, the cumulative impacts of wastewater discharges become greater and are felt further and further downstream,” she said. “To date, no studies or analysis has been done by any entity regarding the cumulative impacts of multiple effluent outflows on the Cibolo Creek watershed.”
