The Aug. 24 Blanco City Council meeting was opened at 5:32 p.m. by Mayor Pro Tem Martin Sauceda with all the other council members: Keith McClellan, Mike Smith, Matt Lewis, and Deda Divine present.
The pledge of allegiance was recited and there were no announcements at that time. Public comments were heard next. J.T. Morgan, Protect Our Blanco (POB) president, took the floor first and spoke about the city’s amendment to the discharge permit. He suggested a regional system which would be beneficial and good for the environment compared to discharging into the river.
Nick Dornak, of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment Director of Watershed Services, spoke next. He explained that in 2019 he was a part of a group that reviewed different options for the wastewater discharge. Dornak encouraged the city to work with POB. He said they wanting to help. Bill Bunch, executive director of Save Our Springs Alliance (SOSA), thanked the council for their service and explained that his organization commissioned Dr. Ryan King, a Baylor University professor of biology, to conduct research on the river last year. Bunch said that Dr. King is an expert in this field and the information will be presented in the presentation later. He concluded with quotes from the clean water act.
Paul Sanchez-Navarro expressed his support for the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) and advised to keep the nutrients out of the river until the technology is available.
The council opened the public hearing to allow the POB presentation. David Baker, POB Treasurer/WVWA executive director, said that he is representing the different groups, which include POB, the Meadows, SOSA, WVWA, the Hill Country Alliance (HCA), Save Our Creeks Association and others in this matter. Baker said they appreciated the tour by Lewis a few weeks ago, and that there was no discharge into the river; it was being irrigated. He explained that because the permit was remanded it would be a good time to form a partnership with the city.
Avoiding wastewater discharge is the number one goal, he said. He went on to explain there was an increase in nutrients from the discharge, which caused algae. Baker said the discharge in the river “ultimately creates possible negative physical impact not only by a decline in your tourism, but also just the cost of building out of that big infrastructure...I think the long term solution to keep the discharge out of the river is really about bringing together these groups, the expertise, the financial resources we can bring to the city and to really look at these alternatives…”
According to Baker, the other organizations are willing to and want to help the city; authorizing an engineering study (to be paid by the other organizations) was also suggested. Additional information on the study can be found online https://protectourblanco.org/resources.
The study took place in two areas: upstream of the City of Blanco adjacent to the Smith property on Goldwin-Smith Road and downstream of 165 at the Blanco Settlement. These samplings took place during early summer high flows (April-May) and late summer low flows (August-September). The conclusion states, “Blanco River study results consistent with multiple published research papers concluding that total phosphorus must be kept below 15 to 20 micrograms/L in order to protect native aquatic communities and prevent excessive algae growth.”
Divine expressed a desire to work with the organizations to make a decision, since the Blanco River is shared by all the parties. “This is a great opportunity and I hope we are able to find a way to work together with these groups,” she said.
Baker concluded by saying the importance of protecting the river for the future and the economy.
The council adjourned into executive session at 6:12 p.m. and returned to the regular meeting at 7:38 p.m. Smith motioned to authorize Mayor Pro Tem to sign the Associated Construction Partners, Ltd (ACP)’s extension agreement regarding the water treatment plant project. McClellan seconded and the motion carried. Smith moved to award the bid to ACP contingent on three items. Lewis seconded and the motion carried. Shane Simpson, ACP executive vice president, thanked the council for the approval and said he is looking forward to working with them.
Lewis moved to close the regular meeting and McClellan seconded the motion. The budget workshop opened at 7:43 p.m. Will Daves, city administrator, reviewed the budget with the council members.
