Dear Councilmember,
I am strongly opposed to any plans to blast, construct and operate an industrial deep water intake facility in the heart of the Village of Volente.  This plan is a lose/lose proposition for Central Texas that is unnecessary, too costly and unfairly condemns an existing residential neighborhood.

I urge you to reconsider your city’s support and participation in Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority’s deep water intake project planned for the Village of Volente for the following reasons: 

You should be encouraging growth and enhancing the beauty of the area, not destroying it.  Draining Lake Travis is not necessary to meet your long term water needs.  Part of your Chamber’s ability to entice top companies into the area is the beauty of the region and recreation on area lakes.  You are going to destroy that by draining Lake Travis.  The infrastructure required to complete your current plan will strip land of trees, deplete an already over-extended lake, destroy residential areas, as well as, scenic wildlife areas and cost lots of money.  You are putting a heavy tax burden on your existing population when you should be encouraging growth that will give your city a wider tax base.

Your city has better and more easily attainable sources of water. Private companies are currently attempting to sell your city aquifer water.  Aquifer water is cleaner and requires less infrastructure than purifying Lake Travis water.  One of these companies says they can deliver it to your door for only $3/1000 gallons.  Rather than waste your citizens’ tax dollars by building an elaborate and expensive infrastructure to pump water out of Lake Travis, you should negotiate a long-term contract for water from the Carrizo-Wilcox or the Simsboro Aquifers. Lake Travis should not be subjected to more draining than it already is. 

It sets a bad example.  The use of eminent domain laws and condemnation proceedings against a neighboring community sets a dangerous precedent for Central Texas.  No one wants to be bullied by their neighbors.  Remember when Austin was planning to dump sludge at a quarry within Cedar Park’s city limits?  Cedar Park Mayor Bob Lemon told the Statesman, “We’re working with the City of Austin to get them to stop blasting.  This is not how they would treat their own neighborhoods.” We ask you to be a good neighbor to Volente.

Putting all your eggs in one basket is never smart.  Just going deeper into Lake Travis, via a “deep water intake”, does not solve the Williamson County growth and water problem.  Mixing the surface water derived from existing Lake Travis infrastructure with aquifer water from the Simsboro provides far better insurance and is less disruptive to the environment and Lake Travis.  There needs to be conjunctive use to balance when to use ground vs. surface water.

YOU are the decision makers.  Don't let people that will profit from a poorly conceived plan influence decisions you should be making.

Best Regards,

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