![]() ![]() Rancher Charles Blackwell runs a few Hereford cows on his ranch right below the summer camp, which you can see through his fence.īrian Kirkpatrick | Texas Public Radio Rancher Charles Blackwell feeds his cows. State Representative Tracy King of Uvalde authored the bill to protect certain areas of the Edward’s Aquifer from the discharge of waste or other pollutants, but it was left pending in committee. They launched a website and tried to push a bill through the statehouse against those kind of permits. They formed the Friends of Hondo Canyon to protect the creek. “I’ve got fond memories of walking and fishing in that creek, which I would like for my children and grandchildren to have the opportunity to do the same,” he said. Rancher turned wildlife conservationist David Littlepage is among those opposed to the permit. Notices, inside plastic sandwich bags, were placed on country gates to summon everyone to a one-room schoolhouse used as a community center. The Griffins organized neighbors against the permit and invited the community to a meeting to discuss it. The Nueces River Authority works to protect water resources in the area and said algae blooms can turn water green and drive down the oxygen levels that aquatic life needs to thrive. “When you add nitrogen and phosphorous into creek water your adding fertilizer and you’re gonna get algae blooms.” “You can see the bottom of our creek at any place because of its clarity and that would change dramatically,” she said. She said treated wastewater has harmful chemicals in it. The test was done after the couple received a notice from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) last summer that stated a Christian summer camp upstream was seeking a permit to discharge 49,000 gallons of treated wastewater each day into the creek. “Right now our creek is one of the few remaining river segments in Texas where there is undetectable levels of phosphorus and very low nitrates in the creek,” she said. ![]() Recent independent testing of the creek water shows it to be among the most pristine in Texas. ![]() Brian Kirkpatrick | Texas Public Radio Margo Denke Griffin presides over meeting of Friends of Hondo Creek. ![]()
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