Environmentalists oppose Decker courses

On Monday, a coalition of Austin environmentalists jumped into the fight over whether to build golf courses at Decker Lake. In a letter to the city, they point out that construction of the courses could “compromise water supply strategies recommended by the Water Resource Planning Task Force” in terms of using Decker Lake for water supply purposes. The letter goes on: “It will certainly send a contradictory message to our ratepayers and to LCRA [Lower Colorado River Authority] and co-users of the river. A typical 18-hole course in our climate can use a half-million gallons of water for irrigation in a single day.” Additionally, the letter notes that relationships that the city has built with LCRA, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality staff and downstream water customers could be strained by perceived city hypocrisy on the topic of water conservation. The letter, which asks City Council to vote against the golf courses, is signed by Bill Bunch, Christianne Castleberry, David Foster, Sharlene Leurig, Luke Metzger, Marisa Perales, Paul Robbins, Lauren Ross, Stefan Schuster, Roy Waley and Jennifer Walker.