Austin joins fight against proposed private dam on South Llano River

Austin is joining the fight against a proposed private dam on the South Llano River that experts say could have an impact on the city’s water supply.

City Council voted last week to approve a resolution directing the city manager to seek a contested case hearing regarding an application by Waterstone Creek LLC to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to construct a dam on the South Llano River and to engage with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in opposing any permits for the project.

The city manager is also directed to explore additional options to work with the Lower Colorado River Authority in opposition to the dam and reservoir permit. The resolution, which was sponsored by Council Member Leslie Pool, directs the manager to complete these actions within 60 days and report the progress by memo to Council.

A group calling itself the Llano River Watershed Alliance is opposed to the application and started a petition that calls it a “dangerous precedent set for more private dams on the Llano Rivers anywhere in the watershed” that could potentially threaten “the entire in-stream ecosystem.”

The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance is a nonprofit representing 58 member groups including the Alamo, Austin and Lone Star chapters of the Sierra Club; the Save Our Springs Alliance; and Environment Texas. The group sent a letter in support of the resolution to Council on Sept. 12.

“GEAA’s members have serious concerns regarding the permit application and the degradation and flow to the South Llano River that will likely occur with granting approval of this water use permit,” the letter reads. “The Upper Llano River, which includes the North and South Llano Rivers, supports several unique plant and animal communities and provides constant flows downstream to waterbodies such as Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) and other Highland Lakes, which are especially critical during times of drought.”

The letter continues: “While the applicant is requesting to impound 12.02 [acre-feet] of water on the South Llano River, even small dam projects (similar to the ones found in this permit application) can have large impacts on water quality. Good water quality is essential for preserving macroinvertebrate habitat, sustaining environmental flows, and promoting properly functioning riparian areas.”

The Austin area recently went through a historic drought from 2008 to 2016, during which the region experienced the lowest annual inflows since the lakes were constructed in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Last year’s Lower Colorado River Basin inflows were the lowest on record, and, as the resolution notes, to date this year have not increased.

“The proliferation of these types of impoundments construe an existential threat to the water supply of Austin, Bastrop, and many downstream communities, and, to the ecosystems supported by flows in the Texas Colorado River,” the resolution reads.

The resolution passed on the consent agenda.

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

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