Permit for controversial private dam on South Llano River withdrawn

A Houston-based landowner has withdrawn his request for a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permit that would’ve paved the way for a private dam on the South Llano River.

The TCEQ permit database shows that the application from Waterstone Creek LLC is now closed. The application was withdrawn on Oct. 20. The application for a water use permit would’ve allowed the landowner to impound 12.02 acre-feet of water for recreational purposes in Edwards County.

Residents of Llano and Edwards counties raised concerns about the potential impacts of the proposed dam project on the regional water supply earlier this summer. A group called the Llano River Watershed Alliance formed to oppose the permit. KXAN meteorologist David Yeomans reported that those concerns might extend to Austin, noting that the river flows into the Highland Lakes that feed the city’s water supply.

In September, City Council echoed concerns about impacts on the region’s water supply in a resolution directing the city manager to support opposition efforts. Sponsored by Council Member Leslie Pool, the resolution calls a reliable drinking water supply “critical to the life, well-being, and safety of the residents, human and non-human, of Central Texas and of the City of Austin, Texas.”

It continued: “The city’s drinking water comes exclusively from the Highland Lakes which consists of Buchanan, Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls, Travis, Austin, and Lady Bird, and whereas those lakes are fed by the Texas Colorado River, the San Saba, Llano, and South Llano Rivers, Sandy Creek, as well as inflows from other Hill Country streams and rivers.”

The Austin area went through a historic drought from 2008 to 2016, and last year the Lower Colorado River Basin inflows were the lowest on record.

Patty Pfister of the Llano River Watershed Alliance celebrated the news in a Wednesday email to its listserv. “Breaking news, there will be no private recreational dam on the South Llano River. … TCEQ permit application #13524 has been withdrawn,” she wrote. “A huge congratulations and thank you to every one of you wonderful ‘Water Warriors’ who through determination and perseverance have prevailed.”

Glen Coleman, a former housing lobbyist who now serves on the alliance’s board, told the Austin Monitor on Wednesday that he confirmed the news with a representative for the applicant, Texas oil CEO Gregory Garland. Coleman called the withdrawal a personal victory for Pool and her co-sponsors.

“I’m really glad to see the city thinking about its water supply regionally and considering the small communities upstream from them that are the stewards of that water,” Coleman said. “Smaller communities that are protecting the city of Austin’s water supply – communities like Junction, Llano, San Saba.”

Photo by William L. Farr, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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