Residents concerned proposed private dam on South Llano River could affect Austin’s drinking water supply

Residents of Llano and Edwards counties are fighting a pending Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permit that could have implications on Austin’s drinking water supply.

An application filed by Waterstone Creek LLC seeks authorization to “construct and maintain a dam and reservoir on the South Llano River, Colorado River Basin, impounding 12.02 acre-feet of water for recreational purposes in Edwards County,” according to a public meeting notice released by TCEQ.

Residents gathered at the meeting on Aug. 11 to express concerns that the project – funded by an individual based in Houston – could have unintended effects on the water supply to their communities. KXAN meteorologist David Yeomans noted that the river flows into the Highland Lakes and feeds Austin’s water supply.

A group calling itself the Llano River Watershed Alliance is opposed to the application and started a petition that has garnered more than 4,200 signatures since October. The petition advocates for a contested case hearing.

The group’s reasons for opposing the petition include: “1) a dangerous precedent set for more private dams on the Llano Rivers anywhere in the watershed, 2) interruption of an already fragile flow rate of the Llano system, 3) such a difficult-to-regulate dam would threaten the entire in-stream ecosystem, and 4) negative personal, financial, economic, and social consequences of Watershed stakeholders.”

The project has been linked to Texas oil CEO Gregory Garland, who until recently worked for energy company Phillips 66.

As the public notice notes, Friday’s meeting was not a contested case hearing, but rather a Q&A session. Comments made during the formal part of the meeting will be summarized and considered by the TCEQ commissioners.

During the meeting, a TCEQ staff attorney explained that any resident can request a contested hearing if they explain how the permit would affect them. Provisions of the Texas Water Code and TCEQ rules determine whether the commission categorizes a person as being affected by the case, and therefore entitled to inclusion in the contested hearing process. Such individuals might have an irrigation or livestock interest, according to the attorney.

One Llano homeowner asked if she or someone in her situation could potentially qualify. The attorney responded that it would depend on the specific interest she is able to convey to the commissioners in her formal comment. “I drink water,” the homeowner said in response, to cheers from the audience.

Glen Coleman, a former housing lobbyist who now serves on the board of the Llano River Watershed Alliance, told the Austin Monitor, “The application underscores that the allocation of water rights in Texas is a political fiction and that wealth and access determine who will actually control the state’s running waters. The precedent set here is a direct menace to Austin’s own water security.”

“It’s appalling that one individual’s vanity project can override an entire community’s common resource,” he said.

Photo by Larry D. Moore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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