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[ Meeting Information! ]
Stakeholder Committee Meetings
At the present time, there are no future Stakeholder Committee Meetings planned.
The previous Stakeholder Committee Meeting was held on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 at the Austin Community College, Pinnacle Campus, near Oak Hill. Please refer to the Stakeholders and the Meeting Notices pages on this web site for additional meeting information.
Executive / Core Committee Meetings
At the present time, there are no future Executive / Core Committee Meetings planned.
The previous meeting of the Executive / Core Committee was held on Monday, June 13, 2005, at the Dripping Spring City Hall. Please refer to the Executive / Core Committee page on this web site for additional meeting information.
[ Welcome! ]
Rapid growth and development in northern Hays County and southwest
Travis County have created concerns with the increasing potential for pollution
of groundwater and surface waters. Concerns raised were not only on the impacts
to drinking water supplies but to the threatened or endangered species that
reside in the area.
In December, 2002, Hays County Judge Jim Powers and City of
Austin Council Member Daryl Slusher convened a Regional Summit to begin discussions
on the impacts development was having on the region and particularly to water
quality in the Barton Creek Watershed. These discussions continued and from
this initial effort a Regional Group was established to address the water quality
issues facing the area of the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer
and its contributing zone and the desire to preserve water quality in this area.
The Regional Group was comprised of an Executive Committee and Core Committee
whose members were made up of representatives from the cities of Dripping Springs,
Austin, Buda, Kyle, Rollingwood, Sunset Valley, the Village of Bee Cave, Hays
and Travis counties and the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
and the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. It was determined by
this Regional Group there was a need to develop a regional approach to water
quality protection within the Barton Creek watershed in order to protect the
quality of drinking water and the endangered species in the area, particularly
the Barton Springs salamander. The completion of a regional water quality protection
plan would provide the basis for political subdivisions, to the extent allowed
by law, to implement local water quality protection plans and ordinances and
provide best management practices that could be adopted by local stakeholders
for water quality protection.
The planning process used to develop the regional plan will
be a very public, stakeholder driven process involving public input in every
aspect of the development of the plan. For this process to be successful, public
participation is paramount and every effort will be made to notify all impacted
parties, stakeholders and the general public of all meetings and allow them
the opportunity to provide input and feedback on elements of the plan as they
are being developed. Building consensus as the plan is developed is critical
to producing a plan that can be adopted and implemented by local governments
and stakeholders.
Elements of the planning process include:
- Stakeholder involvement in all phases of development of the Water Quality
Protection Plan
- Identify the best management practices for the protection of water quality
in the area
- Identify entities that can implement water quality protection measures
within the planning area
- Develop model ordinances to implement and enforce water quality protection
plans for the area
- Develop a consensus-based Water Quality Protection Plan including best
management practices and water quality protection strategies and regional
planning tools to protect both surface and groundwater quality.
The planning effort is funded by grants from the Lower Colorado
River Authority and the Texas Water Development Board and through in-kind services
from many other entities. The firm of Naismith Engineering, Inc. has been retained
to assist in developing the Plan.
The planning area is the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards
Aquifer and its contributing zone. The area covers northern Hays County, southwest
Travis County and a small section of Blanco County. The area includes the cities
of Dripping Springs, Austin, West Lake Hills, Buda, Hays City, Kyle, Mountain
City, Rollingwood,
Sunset Valley, the Villages of Bee Cave and Bear Creek and the areas of the
Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer and Hays Trinity Conservation Districts.
Project Task and Overview Chart
Executive
Committee and Core Committee Contact List
