WVWA firmly supports the Blanco Water Reclamation Task Force recommendation to the City of Blanco dated October 30, 2021. WVWA applauds the thorough analysis done by Aqua Strategies documented in the Assessment of the Costs for Two Wastewater Disposal Strategies for the City of Blanco memo.
We agree with no discharge. By relying on wastewater solutions that do not include discharge into the Blanco River, the City of Blanco best serves its citizens and downstream neighbors, as well as all who enjoy swimming and other recreation in the river, or simply enjoying a pristine view. We trust the scientists and researchers who have studied effects of treated wastewater in the Blanco River and concluded that no level of treatment fully avoids degradation of stream quality. The Blanco River downstream of the City of Blanco provides thousands of gallons a day of recharge to the Trinity Aquifer, which is the sole drinking water supply for thousands of Central Texans.
Therefore, we support your stated option: “The City of Blanco should pursue a phased and/or hyprid permitting approach through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to obtain a Texas Land Application Permit (TLAP) that would ensure no direct discharge of municipal effluent within a time period not to exceed 18 months or until the City gets TLAP infrastructure in place, whichever occurs first.”
Read the full WVWA Letter of Support for the Blanco Water Reclamation Task Force Recommendation.
For background, history of the Task Force, and relevant studies and engineering analyses, visit the Blanco Water Reclamation Task Force page.