DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas — A project along the Travis and Hays County line is getting new pushback.
Environmental groups and neighbors west of Bee Cave say a big development could affect the environment near Hamilton Pool.
The proposed Mirasol Springs development is a 1,400-acre project off Hamilton Pool Road. It includes a proposal a resort hotel with 30 resort residences, 40 home sites, two restaurants and a farm, plus the University of Texas's biological field station.
The developer, Mirasol Capital, founded by Steve Winn of the Dallas area, says the project is sustainable. But groups opposing the project want the plans scaled back. They gathered on Hamilton Pool Road Tuesday morning as UT hosted an awards luncheon honoring the Winns.
"Our science tells us that there is simply not enough water to support this project as is," said Save Our Springs Executive Director Bill Bunch.
"They're asking for more than twice as much water that they need, taking it from the already-stressed Trinity Aquifer and the Pedernales River," said Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance technical director Mike Clifford.
Travis County has joined in opposing the Mirasol Springs groundwater pumping permit applications. The developer has applied for permits to pump groundwater from the Southwest Travis County Groundwater Conservation District and the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. An application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to divert over 100 acre feet of Pedernales River flows each year has been pending for over two years, Bunch said. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the development said Mirasol Springs has secured a surface water contract from the LCRA.
The project developers said they’ve made a lot of changes to their original plan based on concerns from the public. They’re requiring rainwater collection, recycling wastewater, and banning individual septic systems and fertilizer chemicals, as well as not discharging into nearby waterways, among other things. They said about 1,000 acres, or 70%, of the land will be dedicated to a so-called "conservation easement," meaning they won’t develop that portion beyond a certain point.
"Mirasol Springs recognized that pursuing an unfamiliar and innovative development approach in this region would face opposition, even after years of transparent and direct communication with those parties. That does not detract from the vision for this project, and the outcomes that will be realized from conservation, restoration, outreach and research," Jim Truitt with Mirasol Springs said. "As Save Our Springs has previously stated, the project has 'good intentions,' and our team is committed to make them a reality."
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