Wastewater Discharge Regulations and Impacts on Surface Waters and Edwards Aquifer Recharge in the Texas Hill Country

Sign a petition to prohibit direct wastewater discharges into Hill Country streams and rivers

OVERVIEW: The surface waters of the Texas Hill Country are of world renowned quality, providing exceptional recreational opportunities for Texans, young and old, local and statewide. These waters are a major component of the value of ranches, parks, and local communities through which these surface waters flow. Unfortunately, current government action can impose wastewater (sewage system) discharges within these Texas Hill Country waters, resulting in profound degradation in water quality, severe damage to waterfront property values and diminished recreational opportunities.

In turn, these surface waters are the primary source of recharge of Edwards Aquifer through cracks in limestone riverbeds. Scientists confirm surface waters degraded by sewage system effluent also degrade the Edwards Aquifer, threatening pure water supplies. In 2017 Senate Bill 1796 (Menendez) and House Bill 3036 (King) proposed to end wastewater discharges in streams and rivers in the Contributing Zone of the Edwards Aquifer and, by amendments, replace the outmoded practice with land applications systems recycling and reusing wastewater effluent.