The details
The court ruled in support of the city of Dripping Springs’ wastewater discharge permit, which would allow the city to treat about 822,500 gallons of wastewater per day.
With the court’s approval of the permit, the city can expand its wastewater facilities by increasing the amount of treated wastewater, building more treatment facilities in the future and expanding reuse initiatives.
Mayor Bill Foulds said the decision allows the city to be intentional about water use while the city grows.
“Our responsibility is to care for our residents and protect our natural resources, while planning for the growth that continues to come our way,” he said in a news release.
Former Mayor Todd Purcell said the court decision is a “huge win” for the community.
“This ruling sets the stage for big things to come in Dripping Springs,” he said.
The background
The city was originally granted the permit by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ, in 2019. Nonprofit Save Our Springs Alliance, or SOS, then filed a lawsuit against TCEQ, asking for the Texas Supreme Court to rule against the permit, as previously reported by Community Impact.
Since then, the permit had been in litigation as SOS brought up concerns regarding discharge being dumped into Onion Creek.
The city said it does not anticipate discharging the wastewater into Onion Creek, Foulds said during a press conference April 15. The city would only resort to discharging into Onion Creek in a "catastrophic" situation in which all wastewater storage facilities are at capacity, he said.
In the event the city does discharge into Onion Creek, the city would have to justify the reason for its usage to the TCEQ and build another storage facility if the reason was not justified, the city's special counsel David Tuckfield said.
Bill Bunch, executive director of SOS, released a statement disagreeing with the Texas Supreme Court’s decision.
“While we are not surprised, we disagree on how the court applied federal Clean Water Act standards that protect our highest quality, clean lakes, streams, and Gulf waters,” he said. “We need to digest the court's opinion before taking our next steps to protect our clear, clean Hill Country waters.”
What else
Foulds said the approval opens up the door for businesses to move forward in the permitting phase of development.
Many businesses and home developments had to construct their own temporary wastewater treatment plants, resulting in higher housing costs and subdivisions losing plant life to make areas suitable for irrigation, he said.
The developers also had to use potable, or drinking, water instead of wastewater, which put “a significant strain” on the available water resources, he said.
Foulds said he is hoping the city works toward continuing its wastewater reuse initiative, which already uses wastewater, or effluent, for irrigation of parks and open spaces. City officials are hoping to start a program in which community members can purchase reuse water for their home or other areas of town.
A future golf course in Driftwood would be one of the developments that would use an effluent line for water reuse, scheduled for completion spring 2026, he said.
There are also a number of permitting requests for housing subdivisions and other developments that have been on hold during the 12-year period of getting wastewater approval, Foulds said. He said he anticipates an increase of requests, but that the requests on hold will take priority. He said city officials will need to monitor requests to ensure they can handle enough developments so that the facilities are not at capacity.
Foulds said the city will also focus on permitting and wastewater improvements in the downtown Dripping Springs area, as city officials hope to develop the area.
What’s next
Foulds said while the city does have some funding to begin construction of additional wastewater facilities, it is looking to the Texas Water Development Board for additional funding for construction of a new treatment plant. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed in September 2027.
For more information, visit www.cityofdrippingsprings.com.
