Plan to dump treated waste into Hondo Creek draws fire

Residents and environmental groups are asking state regulators to deny a developer’s request to build a plant that would dump 300,000 gallons of treated wastewater a day into Hondo Creek, saying the plan could damage the Hill Country waterway.

The wastewater plant would serve the Hondo Creek Farm development, a 1,000-home, 200acre project planned for a site just outside Hondo, a Medina County city of about 8,600 about 40 miles west of central San Antonio.

A company representing the developer has filed a permit application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, seeking to build the wastewater treatment plant about 2 miles outside Hondo. If approved, construction on the project could start in December 2026, with waste disposal starting in June 2027, according to the permit application.

TCEQ officials met with community members this week during a hearing in Hondo, and said no final decision has been made on the wastewater plant.

The permit application was filed by Gram Vikas Partners Inc., a company that has applied for numerous wastewater disposal permits through the Hill Country. The application lists Hondo Creek Farm LLC as the property owner of Hondo Creek Farm.

Aaron Laughlin, an engineer with Steger Bizzell Engineering, was at the TCEQ hearing representing the permit application, but declined to answer questions about the application or the proposed development.

‘Serious concerns’

The proposal to discharge treated wastewater into Hondo Creek has drawn opposition from environmental groups and numerous residents. As of Wednesday, more than 200 written comments had been filed on the TCEQ website, with most opposing the wastewater treatment plant.

The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for protecting the Edwards Aquifer and the Trinity Aquifer, and other environmental groups say they are concerned about the level of phosphorus that could be discharged into the stream. From its beginnings in Bandera County, Hondo Creek flows for more than 60 miles through Bandera, Medina and Frio counties, and is considered by environmental groups to be pristine due to its low level of naturally occurring phosphorus.

In written comments asking TCEQ officials to deny the permit request, the alliance said its members “have serious concerns regarding the permit application and draft permit, and regarding the degradation of Hondo Creek that will occur with the increased discharge of treated sewage.”

The alliance wrote that Hondo Creek “meets the criteria to be designated as a ‘pristine stream’ in Texas due to its naturally existing very low levels of phosphorus. The addition of even highly treated domestic wastewater effluent carries levels of phosphorus and other nutrients that far exceed the natural levels found in pristine streams across Texas.”

The alliance said it also has concerns about potential contamination of wells in the area, and asks TCEQ officials to require the plant’s operators to use ultraviolet light disinfectant to treat the wastewater, rather than chlorine.

Brian Zabcik of the Save Barton Creek Association, an environmental advocacy group, said in written comments submitted to TCEQ officials that allowing the proposed amounts of phosphorus to be released into Hondo Creek could “lead to the same miles-long blanket of constant algae on Hondo Creek that Liberty Hill’s discharge facility has caused on the South San Gabriel (River).”

‘At the mercy of TCEQ’

Residents attending Tuesday’s hearing expressed a variety of concerns about the proposed wastewater treatment plant and its potential environmental impacts.

Several dozen people attended the meeting at the Graff 7A Event Barn just east of Hondo. Ten people were listed as “affected landowners” in the TCEQ application, several of them attending the meeting to voice their complaints.

Michael Tapia, who lives near the site, said he found out during the meeting that plans call for the effluent to discharge onto his property. He and several other attendees argued the wastewater wouldn’t follow the path listed in the permit application.

“The water’s going to saturate into the ground,” Tapia said. “So the soil is going to get contaminated. It’s going to run off east before it even reaches the actual creek bed.”

Tapia said not all residents are opposed to the housing development, but are worried about the plant’s potential to pollute the area’s groundwater.

“We’re just at the mercy of TCEQ right now,” he said. “Hopefully, they can take our comments today into consideration to at least allow us to have that voice.

“This is ‘God’s Country,’ ” Tapia said during formal comments, referencing a sign that welcomes drivers into Hondo. “Let’s treat it as such.”

Harrison Malley, a TCEQ staff attorney, said the permit has not received final approval and that the agency would address residents’ questions and concerns as part of the process.

“You all live here. This is your community. You have more information than we do about the local area discharge point. That’s why we’re here to collect more data to use in the decision-making to prepare the actual permit for the commission to review,” Malley said. “We would not issue a permit if there were substantial risks to human health or harm to the environment.”

The permit application says the treated wastewater discharged by the plant would not come into contact with surface intake spots for drinking water. A number of residents at Tuesday’s meeting disputed that, saying they fear the wastewater could contaminate the area’s water supply.

The treated wastewater is safe to ingest, according to Malley, but isn’t recommended as a “continuous” source of drinking water for humans.

“The elevation of our shallow wells that are within a mile is nearly the same elevation of the creek water,” said Wesley Favor, who owns land near the site. “So we will be drinking this water continuously.”

Several speakers asked who would pay for cleanup should the plant’s discharge lead to contamination. TCEQ representatives the responsibility would fall on the applicant and permit owner.

Kelly Leach, president of Gram Vikas Partners, attended Tuesday’s hearing. He declined to give a yes or no answer when residents asked if he would pay to clean up any plant mishaps.

“I’m not willing to commit to any costs because it’s a hypothetical question,” Leach said.