A proposed RV resort with 201 sites and 30 cabins on the north side of the Wimberley Valley has filed an application requesting a permit for up to 4.5 million gallons of water per year from the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. Two local property owners are protesting the application.
The resort would be on a 30-acre site at the intersection of Ranch Road 12 and Old Oaks Ranch Road. There would be four buildings added to the property including a welcome center, amenity center, washateria and water pump station.
The application estimates that at 100 percent occupancy, the resort would have 347 total occupants assuming 1.5 people per RV. There are also plans for a 70-foot by 56-foot swimming pool with a beach entry.
“Our vision for Horseshoe Ridge is to build an upscale resort for hard working families to have access to the Texas Hill Country,” Billy Rhyne, owner of Horseshoe Ridge RV Resort, said. “Ultimately, we want to provide a fun, safe, clean environment for these folks to make a lasting and joyous memory.”
Rhyne mentioned that while there are RV Parks in Wimberley, they are almost exclusively aimed at longterm renters and that his facility would not be.
The estimated 4.5 million gallons of water use per year comes from assuming 54.11 gallons of water will be used per unit each day over the entire year. Rhyne said that figure is inclusive of all the water use at the facility including the swimming pool and washateria.
The proposed resort is located in the Jacob’s Well Groundwater Management Zone, which comes along with additional restrictions. Rhyne said that they drilled the wells into the Lower Trinity Aquifer to comply with those additional regulations. He also said they have worked extensively with the HTGCD to show that the pumping will have “zero effect,” on Jacob’s Well or surrounding wells. This included drilling an observation well into the Middle Trinity, where surrounding wells and Jacob’s Well get their water, which showed no impact from the required testing of the wells, according to Rhyne.
“We decided to drill a Middle Trinity observation well,” Rhyne said. “I made that decision that we needed that data as well… We did three different tests. We pumped a total of 250,000 gallons of water. The district came out many many times to see what we were doing… Upon completion of the pump testing, we compiled our data, which showed across 250,000 gallons of water there was absolutely zero effect on the Middle Trinity observation well.”
In addition to the groundwater that would be used for the site, there are two 20,000 gallon rainwater collection systems that will be installed and a reuse permit that will allow all of the greywater from the washateria to be treated and used for irrigation.
The resort will run on an on-site sewage facility using an aerobic system with drip irrigation. According to the maintenance contract submitted for the sewage facility, there are no aquifer recharge features within 150 feet of the proposed site.
“We are putting in a high end treatment system, and we will follow all of the rules and regulations not only that Hays County requires but that the state requires,” Rhyne said.
Rhyne also stated that the facility would follow International Dark-Sky Association rules and that they would be installing a deceleration lane southbound on Ranch Road 12 after working with the Texas Department of Transportation.
The groundwater conservation district heard discussion on the application at the May meeting. Two nearby property owners have attempted to file a formal protest to the permit application. According to officials, a judge will decide if the two protestants have standing to continue with the formal protest at a meeting that is expected to be held this month.
