UPDATE: The City of Wimberley now plans to use a private for-profit company to manage its downtown waste. It will run a raw sewage pipe under Blue Hole.
This means no city-owned facility to treat wastewater and no discharge into a Texas river.
Residents packed city hall to weigh in on the future of the city's wastewater.
Four of the five city leaders said the project costs too much and the discharge permit threatens the area around Blue Hole.
The city voted 4-1 to cancel the contracts with current developers of the wastewater treatment plant.
They don't know how much it will cost the city to cancel the contract new aqua option. The negotiations are ongoing.
Those who support the former plan say the city's option to move to a private company, Aqua Texas, will do more damage in the long-run.
The KVUE Defenders dove deep into the issue below.
ORIGINAL STORY: Residents in Wimberley, Texas, fear their tourist-attraction, Blue Hole, is at risk of pollution.
City leaders face two options: run raw sewage under the creek to connect to a private wastewater treatment provider, or build their own treatment plant to allow discharge on park grounds or into Deer Creek.
It may not be an easy decision and affordability will play a significant role.
Those for a City-owned treatment plant say their option is too close to completion and would cost less money up front. However, the newly elected Wimberley Mayor, Susan Jaggers, said the private wastewater treatment provider Aqua Texas should be considered.
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A city council workshop presentation dated Aug. 14 shows the current project is 67 percent over budget, grown from $4.8 million to $8 million.
The presentation showed, “the City Council has the sole authority for setting and changing customer rates. A City-owned utility is not subject to the PUC customer appeal. So, the City’s customers have no recourse other than their voice and voting power.”
No contracts with Aqua Texas have been presented before the city council.
“We need to look 50 or 100 years to see what the economic impact would be,” said Gary Barchfeld, Place Four Council Member, Mayor Pro Tem.
Barchfeld sides with the mayor and says the City cannot sustain the yearly costs of maintenance and operations.
“We are not a city of property tax and we would like to keep that from happening,” said Barchfeld.
The City’s 2018 budget is less than $1.5 million. It’s revenue is made up from mostly sales tax and permit fees.
“This is a really bad decision. You’re putting the City at great risk,” said Steven Klepfer, former Mayor. “There were things completely left out of (Jagger’s) analysis.”
Klepfer and three other former mayors issued a letter to the community denying the current mayor’s claims.
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“Anyone who knows this town knows that the four of us didn’t agree on a lot of things,” said Klepfer.
They oppose using a private company to treat the city’s wastewater.
“Contractors for both parts of the project have told the city council (Workshop, May 22, 2018) that they do not anticipate any substantial change order that would increase the cost of the project, and construction of both is well underway and well within budget,” the letter read.
Mayors Letter by kvuenews on Scribd
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit in October 2017.
“The City is currently disposing of wastewater through land application as authorized. When the plant is completed and is in its final phase it will be allowed to discharge to Deer Creek. Construction of the wastewater treatment plant is approximately 10 percent complete,” said Andrea Morrow, TCEQ Media Relations Manager.
In 2016, the Texas Water Development Board approved $5,498,005 to the City of Wimberley for the wastewater system improvement. The money included $243,005 in loan forgiveness.
The loan isn’t secured for a new plan.
“Most changes to the scope of work of any project approved by the Board generally require additional Board approval,” said Kimberley Leggett, Media Relations Specialist for TWDB. “TWDB staff met with representatives from Wimberley about the wastewater treatment plant. Staff asked Wimberley for more detailed information on the proposed changes. Once TWDB staff receives the information and has had time to review, they will make a determination on whether or not the changes will need to go before the Board. At that time, we will know the status of their loan. At this point, it’s too early for us to determine what will happen to their financial assistance.”
Grants from the Way Foundation and the Economic Development Agency help cut the cost by $2 million. The grant money is not available for the Aqua Texas option.
EDA Wimberley RD Ltr 8 17 (1) by kvuenews on Scribd
The demand for a new wastewater treatment plan comes from aging downtown septic systems.
The Cypress Creek Watershed Protection Plan shows “aging and improperly maintained septic systems pose an increasing threat throughout the watershed.”
Those opposing a City-owned facility say they don’t want a discharge permit.
“Wimberley, Texas, is an ecotourism place. Ecotourism is the heart of the economy in Wimberley. That is done by the clear, clean-flowing streams that we have. We have to preserve those at all cost,” said Barchfeld.
The current permit allows for Type I discharge in Deer Creek if land application isn’t available and the extra storage is full. Those for the City-owned facility say that would be only during flood conditions.
“It would be days and days that it will go into the storage before it would have to discharge,” said Louis Parks, chairman of Citizens Alliance for Responsible Development (CARD).
CARD usually opposes all discharge permits but supports the City-owned facility option which allows for wastewater discharge.
The Type I level is considered by TCEQ as safe for public exposure. The City would also use ultraviolet disinfection.
“The water would be much cleaner than the flood water that would be going into it,” said Parks.
“It is one of the best permits ever written environmentally for an environmentally sensitive area,” said Klepfer.
The KVUE Defenders reported statewide problems with wastewater discharges in 2016.
A public information request revealed more than 1,100 wastewater discharge violations reported to TCEQ from January 1, 2013, to July 2016. TCEQ violations are usually self-reported.
“All safeguards have been used to recycle and re-purpose and reuse that water,” said Klepfer.
The private company option would require transporting raw sewage under Blue Hole. Aqua Texas holds a Type II wastewater permit, where the state limits public contact.
To see the differences in Type I and Type II, click here.
“The regional provider will upgrade its wastewater from Type II affluent to Type I, so it’s better for the entire community,” said Barchfeld.
Parks said the private company control over wastewater will pave the way for more development around Wimberley. He said a City-owned treatment facility limits growth.
“We want to keep a small-town atmosphere here. We don’t want this to become another Austin suburb. This area cannot support it,” said Parks.
Barchfeld disagrees.
“Through the planning and zoning, we should control our own growth. It is up to us to control the growth. It has nothing to do with who processes the sewage,” said Barchfeld.
Bottom line, each side argues the opposition is more expensive and more dangerous for the environment.
The KVUE Defenders are looking into how often pipes leak raw sewage around the state.
A special city council meeting is planned for Tuesday.
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