March 24, 2025 – State Rep. Mark Dorazio, R-San Antonio, fresh from touring an area of northwest Bexar County where 1 million gallons a day of treated sewage would be released into the watershed, filed a concurrent resolution for the legislature to urge the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to “take immediate and decisive action” to protect the Edwards Aquifer from such discharges.
Specifically, it calls for safeguards to the aquifer’s “recharge zones and contributing zones from irreversible contamination from treated effluents discharged by any wastewater systems or toxic substances released through construction or other activities.”
Florida-based Lennar Corp. wants to build 2,900 homes on about 1,100 acres in a proposed development called Guajolote Ranch, west of the intersection of Scenic Loop and Babcock roads. The development would sit atop the recharge zone of the Trinity Glen Rose Aquifer, the area’s primary water source, and the contributing zone leading to the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, the principal drinking-water source for 1.7 million residents of San Antonio and multiple counties. Up to 15% of the entire recharge of the Edwards Aquifer comes from the Helotes Creek watershed, where Lennar would release the daily average of 1 million gallons of effluent.
“A study by the Southwest Research Institute, funded through the city of San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan, found that any type of wastewater system releasing treated effluent in the Helotes Creek watershed, such as the proposed Guajolote Ranch wastewater disposal plan in Bexar County, would ‘significantly degrade the watershed and the quality of water recharging the Edwards Aquifer,’ ” according to the resolution, to be taken up by both the Texas House and Senate, and Gov. Greg Abbott. It also calls for an official copy to be forwarded to TCEQ commissioners.
View the full resolution, HCR 121, here.
On March 16, Dorazio joined a bipartisan legislative tour of the area between Grey Forest and the Guajolote Ranch site with State Rep. John Lujan, R-San Antonio, and aides for State Rep. Ray Lopez, D-San Antonio, and State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, and met with residents. A staff member of Bexar County Precinct 3 Commissioner Grant Moody also joined the tour, organized by the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance neighborhood group, partnering with Grey Forest.
Guajolote Ranch lies in Dorazio’s and Campbell’s districts. Dorazio and State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, previously issued statements opposing the wastewater permit for Guajolote Ranch. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg also opposes the permit, citing concerns for the Edwards Aquifer.
During the tour, Dorazio said he’s been involved in the issue since April 2023 when his office was first contacted by opponents, making it the longest-running issue he’s worked since joining the legislature that year.
“I’m pro-development, however I’m also very concerned about our citizens,” Dorazio said. “And one of the things that changed my mind is the pharmaceuticals that are going to be discharged into the Edwards Aquifer. Especially after 15% of the whole recharge is coming out of this area. If you take 15% of the recharge, and you take all these pharmaceuticals, that’s a major concern for me. And that’s why we got involved.
“We also called upon the governor to have a special session so that we can go ahead and address this issue,” he said. “Of course, everything has to go through its course of time.”
Opponents are concerned about pollutants such as E. coli, as well as toxins like harmful “forever chemicals” (an issue currently raging in Johnson County) and pharmaceuticals from this development that wouldn’t be treated. Dorazio questioned what parent would want their child to play in a stream with effluent. “And who wants to see all this going into the drinking water?” he asked.
“It’s not only going to affect Bexar County,” he said. “It’s going to go beyond. Fifteen percent of 600,000 acres of the Edwards Aquifer is quite a bit.”
Lujan said Dorazio told him his concerns, and so he wanted to join the tour to see firsthand.
“This (development) doesn’t seem like a good move,” Lujan said. “And I’m trying to wrap my arms around this, and my mind around it (to ask) why would we even be doing something like this on such valuable, precious land that is protecting our water supply.
“I’m going to ask the tough questions,” he said. “We’re going to hear from the residents, hear from the people that are here and take it back to the TCEQ and say, ‘Is this really the right thing to do?’ And let’s make the changes that need to be made for the benefit of the citizens of Texas.”
TCEQ’s Office of Public Interest Counsel (OPIC), an independent party to all commission proceedings, is recommending that a permit be denied for Lennar’s proposed wastewater plant operator for Guajolote Ranch, Municipal Operations LLC.
In a closing argument filed on March 11 from a contested-case hearing on the permit held before the State Office of Administrative Hearings Feb. 18-20, OPIC concluded that the applicant hadn’t shown the permit would adequately protect water quality, including surface water, groundwater and drinking water wells, as well as wildlife, including endangered species, in accordance with Texas Surface Water Quality Standards.
Also in March 11 filings, the attorney for the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, the city of Grey Forest and landowner Ann Toepperwein protesting the permit agreed, and additionally argued that the applicant had failed to comply with siting requirements and satisfy consideration of need. Attorneys for Municipal Operations as well as counsel for the TCEQ executive director argued the opposite on all issues.
SOAH is expected to send its decision on the permit to TCEQ commissioners by late May. That panel, then, can accept or reject the decision. If necessary, an appeals process would follow. A final TCEQ decision is expected by late summer.
The concurrent resolution additionally notes that the Edwards Aquifer is “one of the most prolific and pristine artesian aquifers in the world, and it is a vital source of clean and sustainable groundwater for millions of Texans.”
Further, it “covers approximately 4,350 square miles of South Central Texas, and for generations, residents and policymakers in the region have worked to preserve and responsibly manage this invaluable natural resource, which supplies the region with essential water for agricultural, industrial, recreational and domestic use; the aquifer is also the primary sustainable source of drinking water for 1.7 million Texans, including residents of San Antonio, America’s seventh largest city.
“A karst geological system with extremely high porosity and permeability, the Edwards Aquifer allows for rapid infiltration of surface water through an extensive network of conduits, fractures and faults; this makes it highly susceptible to irreversible contaminants that pose severe and potentially fatal health risks to humans, wildlife and ecosystems.”
And, the “Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is the primary regulatory body responsible for ensuring that no development within the region compromises the purity and safety of the aquifer; the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, created by TCEQ, was designed to establish and enforce best management practices that prevent contaminants from reaching the Edwards Aquifer during and after construction activities.”
It concludes, the “Edwards Aquifer is an irreplaceable state treasure, requiring immediate and long-term protection, and elected officials at every level, along with non-elected regulatory bodies, should advocate for and implement policies and practices that safeguard the quality and sustainability of one of the most valuable natural resources in Texas.”
Those interested in donating to support the fight can go to: https://aquiferalliance.org/donate-to-geaa/guajolote-ranch-fund/.
The Scenic Loop – Helotes Creek Alliance represents the largest neighborhood by square mile recognized by the San Antonio Neighborhood & Housing Services Department, a wide corridor along Scenic Loop Road from Bandera Road to north of Babcock Road.
CONTACT:
Scenic Loop – Helotes Creek Alliance
Randy Neumann, 210-867-2826, uhit@aol.com
Stuart Birnbaum, 210-355-9974, stuart.birnbaum@sbcglobal.net
Michael Wm. Schick, 571-296-9601, mschick@aol.com
Lynette Munson (daughter of Ann Toepperwein, with property abutting Guajolote Ranch), 210-317-8415, aniton2000@aol.com
Steve Lee, 210-415-2402, slee_78023@yahoo.com
Grey Forest
Mayor Paul Garro, 210-710-0742, mayor@greyforest-tx.gov
Councilman Michael Phillips, 301-910-9235, mphillips@greyforest-tx.gov