Think Last Year’s Drought Was Bad? Just Wait Until Cedar Park Builds A New Schlitterbahn!
After last year's drought, it's nice to see water back in Austin's Greenbelt.
A new maverick in water conservation is making its way to Cedar Park: Schlitterbahn! Oh, you didn’t know Schlitterbahn was a shining example of how business development can compliment ecological stewardship? According to Jeff Henry, the son of the Schlitterbahn’s founder, Cedar Park’s new water park “will highlight the importance of water conservation and responsible water use.”
Really? That’s like saying I want to showcase money saving methods by making a piggy bank out of $100 bill paper mâché. And how can a city that fines residents for watering their yards during a drought turn around and use that money to help build a park that will use 8 MILLION gallons of water from our Edwards Aquifer during these droughts?
THE DEAL ON THE EDWARD’S AQUIFER:
- The EA isn’t an abundant underground pool of water; rather, it’s like a soaked sponge. When our top supply of water runs low in the summer time, it would cost big bucks to begin pumping water up from the reserves. Seeing as how our cities are spending that money to build giant water parks…. hmmm…. Austin, we have a problem.
- The EA is home to 7 endangered species. Their natural habitats are threatened by growing populations, and added pressure on the Aquifer. I would think that the Endangered Species Act would help protect Austin’s ecosystems and stop posing threats, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
- Over 40 species and many cities depend on EA to be more than 95% full. When the top formation of the EA runs out, which has happened, the springs stop flowing, which is catastrophic for many dependent animal and plant species as well as downstream economies.
- The EA already supports 5 water parks, each averaging 5-9 MILLION gallons of annual water usage.
Several of which are making grand advancements to become greener water parks. Chris and I visited Sea World this past summer and learned of their new recycling program, their low flush toilets, their ingenious water recycling systems, condensation irrigation systems that all added up to them STILL using 7 million gallons of water from the Edward’s Aquifer.
I’ve heard both sides. This venture could potentially create over 1000 jobs, is suspected to increase real estate value, and generally bring income to Cedar Park. If the cost at this point seems to be the loss of the Fountain Darter that inhabits our surrounding waters, well that’s not so bad, right? I guess it’s ok until the Fountain Darter dies off and the insect population, now without a natural predator to eat the larvae, begins to grow. Every decision has a consequence.
One of our greatest vices as an American people is our shortsightedness. If we can’t count on our leaders to see the long term effects of our decisions today, how can we protect our future? It has been my experience that ecosystems function by rule of the domino effect.
Remember, folks, Cedar Park’s decision impacts EVERYONE who relies on the Edward’s Aquifer–not just the residents of Cedar Park. Austin, get the troops ready.
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I appreciate the need to conserve and find balance with out precious resources. I just don’t think CP’s new waterpark is the villain some has made them out to be.
The land on which Schlitterbahn will sit was originally zoned for a mix of single and multifamily housing. The water park and its recycling program will use 20% LESS than what a housing development on the same acreage would use. Also, the city will only be reimbursing the waterpark for part of the tax revenue generated FROM THEIR PROPERTY. No money from my pocket until it starts generating its own revenue.
Also.. The tax generated
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Hi Rob:
When I see this, I think the city of Cedar Park saw the housing downturn and thought, “Oh Shit! We need to do something else.”
In addition to the water park, “the project will include a 230-room hotel, 45,000 sq. ft. of retail space, a conference center and a river walk system.” I’m sorry, but nothing about that sounds like it’s gonna have less of an impact environmentally than single- and multi-family homes.
You shouldn’t think about the “money out of your pocket.” Instead, think about the type of world you want your kids to live in.
I think this needs to have an eco-impact study done AND I think it should include approval from all the users of the Edward Aquifer.
“I think this needs to have an eco-impact study done AND I think it should include approval from all the users of the Edward Aquifer. ”
ALL users? Sorry but this sounds like code for never build anything anywhere near anyone.
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Your point on the effect of development, especially this kind, on water conservation is valid, but the problem with your argument is that Cedar Park doesn’t draw its water from the Edwards Aquifer. Like most of Austin, it uses surface water from Lake Travis, not groundwater.
Hi heyzeus:
Sorry, bud. Check out this document made by the City of Cedar Park.
Here’s a quote:
The Edwards does provide water for municipal uses. San Antonio relies on it heavily. But Cedar Park is not one of those municipalities. The link you’ve posted simply warns Cedar Park residents not to dump contaminants into storm drains and creeks, because Cedar Park is within the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Most of the Austin region is. That just means that surface water enters the Edwards and refills it through geologic features.
This does not mean that Cedar Park gets its water from the Aquifer though. And in fact, it does not. Cedar Park’s water supply is surface water from Lake Travis. It appears I can’t post links, but if you do a simple google search for “cedar park water supply” you’d find the city’s Water Quality Report, which states
“Where do we get our drinking water? Our drinking water is obtained from surface water sources. It comes from Lake Travis.”
Same is true for Austin.
By the way, when you call someone “bud” when they tried to politely correct your inaccuracy, you just look like an ass.
Sincerest apologies heyzues.
And you’re right. However, this is what I mean about us being so provincial. It’s important to understand that in nature, EVERYTHING is connected and dependent on each other. Barton Springs (which is the largest segment of the Edwards Aquifer) actually feeds 34 million gallons of water into the Colorado River. That’s over 1 billion gallons every month. And just to connect the dots for everyone, Lake Travis is a reservoir of the Colorado River. So added stress on the Edwards Aquifer is indeed a threat.
You did bring up an EXCELLENT point though: Cedar Park is a recharge zone, which means that any water soaking through Cedar Park can contaminate our Edwards Aquifer. When Barton Creek Mall set up in a recharge zone it polluted the aquifer causing devastating consequences. When people started gathering in New Braunfels for recreational purposes we saw heavy pollution, and now look at the Guadalupe River, it’s filthy! So a new water park in Cedar Park may not just drain Lake Travis and the EA, but it may contaminate our water source. I also don’t see how Schlitterbahn helps local businesses that rely on Lake Travis being full. Looks like jetski businesses will have to shut down or downsize. It’s amazing how quickly we forget how dry and bad Texas water systems got after a couple months. Lake Travis looked pathetic last summer.
Moral of the Story: we’re all connected. What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours. Schlitterbahn cons heavily outweigh the pros.
It’s true, our water systems are interconnected. There’s some evidence that the Colorado river provides recharge to the Edwards Aquifer as well.
A final point of order – Barton Springs feeds into the Colorado below Lake Travis, so Austin and Cedar Park don’t draw water from the Springs. But plenty of water users downstream on the Colorado rely on that water.
The suburbs of North Austin are still growing rapidly, especially out towards Leander and Liberty Hill to the NW, and Georgetown to the North. Those areas are discovering that LCRA isn’t going to allow them much more water. There are questions as to what Lake Travis’ natural level really is now, in the present climate and given present usage. If you want to see what lengths we’re about to go to in order to not have to conserve water or curtail our usage, check out the Blue Water Systems plan to import water to Austin via pipeline from a fairly untapped aquifer near Rockdale. Billions of dollars are in play, and nobody really knows what the sustainable water yield is from that aquifer yet.
Hey Heyzeus:
I actually call my friends “bud.” Sorry if you found it offensive.
Whether the water comes from the Edwards Aquifer or from Lake Travis (LCRA), the drain on our water resources (excuse the pun) will still be significant. I love boating on Lake Travis–to see Lake Travis bone dry last summer KILLED me. And I should expect that adding a water park to the list of users is going to make me think that it wont affect anything?
I think we need to have an independent group conduct an environmental impact study, because wherever the water comes from, it affects everyone in the region.