From the opening of the article “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.”
Unfortunately, this article provides a single sided view of what is potentially about to happen to the Wimberley Valley. Clearly the water grab is one of the most major concerns of this development but there are many other concerns that needs to be highlighted. If constructed, this will be one of if not the highest density commercial sites in the Wimberley Valley. The area that has been picked for this RV park is one of the quietest in the valley with a very low population density, less than 10 people for 30 acres. This proposal is well over 300 people and more like 600 people (at full capacity) over the 30 acres. Noting that 10% of the land is not usable due to the Permian Highway Pipeline. To emphasize the density, the RV sites will have all of 12 feet spacing between the RV’s. Quiet time for this part of the valley will end when you have an operation that goes 24x7, 365 days per year including a swimming pool, splashpad and constant heavy RV traffic (on an already dangerous two-lane RR12)
Contrary to the vision stated by the owner “Rhyne mentioned that while there are RV Parks in Wimberley, they are almost exclusively aimed at long-term renters and that his facility would not be.”. This is not consistent with what he has stated publicly and communicated to the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD). His stated intent is to have 70% long term tenants . Effectively, he’s offering low-cost housing. If he makes inconsistent statements to the public, what does it really mean for his future operations for this facility?
He doesn’t tell you that this site will contain 38% impervious ground cover (nearly 12 acres). This property sits on a hill all sloping towards Golds Rd and the springs and creek that feed into Cypress Creek downstream of Jacob’s Well. With the people density, continuous RV traffic, sewer hook ups, and generally human error, the number and quantity of contaminants that end up in our pristine springs, creeks, and aquifers are inevitable when we are hit with big rains. Within 700 ft from the proposed onsite sewage system and storm water ponds is an open karst/cave that was exposed by Kinder Morgan during the PHP construction. Will more be uncovered? What are the risks to our water and to this environmentally sensitive, karst riddled landscape?
Continuing with this impervious ground cover is the storm water management. The design drawing shows there is an allotment of 1” of rainfall. Once full, the stormwater basin overflows and once it begins it remains open until the basin is empty. Clearly greater than 1” rains are common in our area. Those downstream and in flood zone areas will have increased flood risks if this design is not abated and amended. As designed, the stormwater management is totally insufficient and may put households in peril.
If this development was built under Hays County subdivision rules and not under the loop hole of an RV Park only 5 homes could be built with an average of 55 gallons of water per acre a day. The current plan for Horseshoe Ridge will pump over 600 gallons an acre and put nine or more units per acre.
Now, lets talk water. Yes, the owner appears to be doing his due diligence. Kudos for drilling a monitoring well. He even states “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.” This was a 48-hour test, not a one-year test. The draw down in the Lower Trinity was over 395 feet in a section of the aquifer that is approximately 400 feet thick. What is not known, even by the HTGCD, is the viability of the Lower Trinity. The Lower Trinity is considered “old water”, i.e., it doesn’t recharge, or does it? Is there leakage from the Middle Trinity? This is the big unknown. How will this aquifer with this type of heavy water production, over time and during drought, respond? Will it affect other water wells or local springs, especially those on the Middle Trinity?
Any water permit granted should be heavily constrained until more data can be collected. As a community, we should stress these critical points to HTGCD that more data must be collected in this region to understand the behavior of the two aquifers. Validate the viability of the Lower Trinity. Understand if there is co-mingling between the two aquifers. Do not lift water permit constraints until more data is available and validates anticipated water production needs. You can even ask what’s the risk to the owner for this multi-million-dollar investment and how will he behave if the water is just not there to continue his operations?
Bottom line, this resort is a major misfit for the Wimberley Valley and for the precious water resources that we have been blessed with to this date. We are at risk of losing it if we allow a development of this size and density. Enough is enough. Where does it end? We have to protect our water!
Malcolm Harris
