CANYON LAKE, TEXAS – Pushback on a new Lennar Homes development in northern Comal County continues.
Some Canyon Lake area residents against the new development are pointing to a previous decision that bans pollutants in some Austin area lakes as a precedent that should apply to Canyon Lake too.
“In 1986 the Texas Water Commission took action to protect Lake Travis and Lake Austin from degradation, and that was the entire watershed, and so they banned all wastewater treatment plants,” says Danae Delaney, a Canyon Lake resident.
In 1989 that ban was expanded to include a chain of lakes from Lake Buchanan to Lake Austin along the Colorado River, called the Highland Lakes.
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This is the main drinking source for the City of Austin. This is considered one of the only bans of its kind in the state. Now, Canyon Lake residents believe this ban should be expanded to include more drinking reservoirs in the state, including theirs.
” Maybe every reservoir needs anti degradation policy to be enforced and bans on wastewater treatment plant facilities, because the pollution doesn’t just go away,” says Delaney.
Since learning of the current discharge ban a few weeks ago, Delaney has been encouraging others to get involved and contact both TCEQ and state politicians.
“The next step is public participation with peaceful emails, letters, phone calls to the TCEQ to politicians, to the governor, to have Canyon Lake protected on a wider scale,” says Delaney.
We reached out to TCEQ to ask them if the previous ban could apply in the Canyon Lake case. We are waiting to hear back.