ALL users? Sorry but this sounds like code for never build anything anywhere near anyone.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sorry, bud. Check out this document made by the City of Cedar Park.

Here’s a quote:

You may be asking yourself, “What is the Edwards Aquifer”? The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most valuable resources in the Central Texas area. This aquifer provides water for municipal, industrial and agricultural uses as well as sustaining a number or rare and endangered species.

RT @ATX4U: NEW POST: Think Last Year’s Drought Was Bad? Just Wait Until Cedar Park Builds A New Schlitterbahn! [link to post]

– Posted using Chat Catcher

RT @ATX4U NEW POST: Think Last Year’s Drought Was Bad? Just Wait Until Cedar Park Builds A New Schlitterbahn! [link to post]

– Posted using Chat Catcher

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.