Posted: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:49 AM - 7,030 Readers

By: Bob Robuck

Decades ago the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality banned reclaimed water discharges into the Highland Lakes.

Now some cities want to change that. Leander is one municipality leading that charge. Granite Shoals on Lake LBJ is the other.

"Currently we do not have a city wastewater treatment plant, and we would like to build one so that we would be able to provide wastewater service to our residents rather than [having] them relying on septic tanks, which I guarantee you leak into the lake already," Granite Shoals Mayor Frank Reilly said.

Reilly contends treated wastewater is just as clean, if not cleaner, than lake water.

Travis County Commissioners don't like the idea, and the Lower Colorado River Authority opposes anything that has a scientifically negative impact.

"We've run some preliminary analysis, and it shows that putting wastewater effluent into Lake Travis would negatively affect the water quality," LCRA spokesperson, Emlea Chanslor, said.

The LCRA plans to test Lake LBJ too, and they believe the results will be the same.

Officials with the LCRA offer other alternatives for the wastewater.

"Reuse their wastewater effluent for irrigation," Chanslor said.

Granite Shoals has adopted that as their back-up plan, but Reilly isn't sure if that alone will attract developers.

"We certainly would like some commercial development in the area. We have very little commercial development in our city because we have no wastewater treatment plant," he said.

The TCEQ will review a petition to reverse the ban November 18.

*  Story Contributed by: Bob Robuck