Save the Pedernales River
& Hamilton Pool
A billionaire’s private resort will drain water from our public parks
Development in the middle of preservation
Springs and streams are the lifeblood of the parklands in Southwestern Travis County. The best example is Hamilton Pool Preserve. Without sufficient spring flow, Hamilton Pool is not sustainable.
Travis County taxpayers have spent over $180 million to buy parkland and conservation easements along the Pedernales River, home to 7 endangered species and 23 threatened species.
These green spaces include Hamilton Pool Preserve, Reimers Ranch Park, and the Johannsen, Castletop, and RGK Tracts.
From expert witness testimony by Charles Bergh, retired director of Travis County Parks
A luxury resort and exclusive subdivision
Dallas billionaire Steve Winn has big plans for the 1,400-acre property that he owns on the Pedernales River next to Hamilton Pool Road.
Plans for Winn’s development, which he calls Mirasol Springs, have included a 71-room high-end hotel, two restaurants, an event center, 30 resort cottages, and 41 single-family homes.
The Mirasol inn will be run by Auberge Resort Collection, which operates hotels in Napa Valley’s Wine Country and Rocky Mountain ski resorts.
While construction hasn’t started yet on Winn’s development, his company has already started marketing the development.
Winn has also made donations to local institutions and organizations — most notably, to the University of Texas at Austin — which have lent their support to his project.
Mirasol:
A corporate brand name
While there are several natural springs on Winn’s property, none of them were previously named Mirasol.
Mirasol is the brand name that Winn has used for his other companies, including Mirasol Capital and Mirasol Real Estate Partners. Using “Mirasol Springs” as the name for his resort is a corporate branding extension similar to the companies that applied their name to AT&T Stadium in Arlington and Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Winn was the founder of RealPage, which makes software used by landlords to manage finances for rental properties, including rental rates. Winn founded RealPage in 1998 and resigned as CEO in 2021.
A “green” project with a big thirst for water
Winn has promised several ecological features for his development — a 1,000-acre conservation easement; the use of collected rainwater & reused wastewater, dark sky protections: and no use of pesticides.
However, Winn’s development will also need a lot of water for its wealthy guests and residents — around 83,000 gallons per day.
Mirasol Springs has applied for a permit to pump up to 96,000 gallons per day out of the Pedernales River.
During periods of peak pumping, the river’s level could drop by as much as four feet, reducing the swimming beaches at local parks to puddles between gravel bars.
But because the Pedernales often has little or no flow during dry months, Mirasol Springs has also applied for permits to pump up to 75,000 gallons per day from on-site wells drilled into underground aquifers.
Effects on Hamilton Pool
Water pumped for Mirasol Springs could endanger Hamilton Pool Preserve and Milton Reimers Ranch Park.
When river water is unavailable because of drought, groundwater supplies will suffer similar conditions. The springs and streams are the lifeblood of the park lands in Southwestern Travis County.
Mirasol Springs would further reduce spring flow. Without spring flow, Hamilton Pool is not sustainable.
Still pending: Water permits
Because the Mirasol Springs development is located in unincorporated areas of Travis and Hays Counties, Winn has filed several applications to provide water and wastewater service.
Lower Colorado River Authority — Winn has already received a water contract that allows for the withdrawal of up to 96,000 gallons per day from the Pedernales River, which is managed by LCRA.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — Winn has applied to TCEQ for a diversion permit, which is necessary to pump the water allowed under the LCRA contract.
Hays-Trinity Groundwater Conservation District — Winn has applied to HTGCD for a well permit to drill and pump from 4 on-site wells in the Hays County portion of his property. A contested case hearing on the permit application will be held next January.
Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District — Winn has also applied to SWTCGCD for another well permit to drill and pump from 1 on-site well in the Travis portion of his property. A contested case hearing on the permit application will be held next February.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — Winn has also applied to TCEQ for a TLAP wastewater irrigation permit. This would allow Mirasol Springs to build a small on-site facility to treat wastewater and irrigate the water onto fields above Elder Creek Canyon. A hearing on this permit will be held on November 5 via Zoom. Neighbors and downstream recreational users are encouraged to attend online.
How to save our water
Sell the Mirasol Springs property to a conservation organization or a park agency to protect this unique ecosystem.
If the project moves forward:
Use Net Zero water principles to reduce water demand. Net Zero projects use 75-90% less utility water than typical buildings by reusing collected rainwater, treated water, and air conditioning condensation for non-drinking uses such as flushing toilets and irrigating fields. Also consider Direct Potable Reuse.
For the TLAP permit, all effluent limits must meet recreational standards, and the irrigation fields for the treatment system should be moved away from drainage channels and creeks.
Relocate the conservation homesites on the west side of Roy Creek Canyon to another location, in order to prevent contamination of the canyon and to protect endangered species.
Preserve the species habitat, the “swimability,” and the deep water in a two-mile pool on the Pedernales by stopping pumping when the river levels drop below a sustainable level.
Provide real-time publicly accessible data on river and spring flows, pollution levels, rainfall and reused water collected.
How you can help:
Tell your friends and neighbors about the threat to our parks.
Post on social media – including your best pictures and memories of Hamilton Pool and Reimers Ranch — and tell people about the threat from Mirasol Springs.
Act, show up at hearings, and organize protests.
Please support our legal defense by donating to Save Our Springs Alliance, whose attorneys are representing members of Save the Pedernales members.
Click here to donate:
https://saveoursprings.salsalabs.org/basicfundraisingformcopy1/index.html
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