Belterra Wants Treated Sewage Sent To Barton Springs

In the wake of a finding by the U.S. Geological Survey showing the highest ever levels of the pesticide atrazine, dry cleaning solvent, and chloroform in Barton Springs, the subdivision of Belterra has requested a permit to expand their sewage treatment plant and allow discharge directly into Bear Creek, which feeds the Barton Springs portion of the aquifer. Maybe this isn't a big deal. The sewage discharged into Barton Springs would be treated to remove most of the recognizable excrement, which seems slightly less distasteful than the motor oil and gasoline runoff that already pours into the aquifer. The entirety of the hill country is now, or soon will be, suburban sprawl, so thinking that we can continue to swim in untreated water filtered through that region is increasingly unrealistic.

Austin Action and Save Our Springs Alliance are organizing protests and petitions, but the larger problem here is not this particular poop in the pool. If we keep expanding the highways and water connections out to the land that feeds Barton Springs, then Raymond Slade (a retired hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey) will be right that "Barton Springs will not be swimmable in 20 years."

Photo by Matt Wright on Flickr

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By Shawn Shillington in News on December 29, 2006 10:05 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Shilli

A good example of why this is a bad idea:

http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=5935758&nav=0s3dWLpc

More than a million and a half gallons of treated wastewater has flowed into the Colorado River after the South Austin Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant suffered a power failure.

Authorities say there is no danger to the public. However, if you live near the intersection of Onion Creek and the Colorado River, they do advise you don't come into contact with the water.

Again, because of the high degree of rain and flooding, city officials don't believe this spill will affect public safety.

M1EK

2007: please spare us from morons who think suburban sprawl over the aquifer which we TRIED TO STOP BUT THE STATE WOULDN'T LET US is somehow synonymous with the "Smart Growth" we were actually trying to do.

anon

At least if Barton Springs becomes unswimable there won't be many people who oppose the development of condos on its banks. I mean, how cool would it be to have Barton Springs as your complexes "pond"?

Benji

Okay, that's fine. I just don't wanna swim in something that recently was shit.

rational thought

Treated sewage is exactly that - treated. So its safe for the environment. Your tap water is taken from the discharge zones and further treated to remove contaminants caused by the environment.

Most of City of Austin's treated sewage is discharged straight into the river and town lake.

Treated sewage is an ugly synonym for "water".

JUBCHA

MAN, THIS CHAPS MY BLACK ASS.

I THINK IM GOING TO START A REVOLUTION.

ARE YOU IN?

Ali

But the good news is there will be pools on top of those high rise condos, so, you know, that should solve the problem for most of us.

former austinite

So much for Smart Growth. Barton Springs doesn't sound swimmable now.

notme

Centrally located high rise condos don't pose the same problems with run off that are created when you build a crapload of new roads to serve new suburban developments. Plus the new suburban developments have larger footprints with more impervious cover. both bad.