Environmental Stewardship

How important to you is the health of the Colorado River? We’re talking about the Texas - Colorado River. The part that flows from the Longhorn dam to Matagorda Bay. It is a vital source of irrigation for the agricultural users located along the banks of the river, as well as seafood - such as shrimp, oysters, and fish - that come from the bay. And it exchanges water with the aquifers that are contiguous to it as it flows to the bay. In recent years, industrial operations have begun setting up shop in areas close enough to affect the health of the lower river’s ecosystem, as well as its water quality. This has gone somewhat unnoticed by all but a few who live near enough to be heavily impacted by these companies . . . until recently.

We have seen lately the development of large land operations - such as Elon Musk’s commercial developments of SpaceX, Starlink, and The Boring Company - pop up like mushrooms along FM 1209 in Bastrop County. A ten-fold expansion of one of the wastewater treatment plants in the area that is within the LCRA McKinney Roughs Nature Park and is operated by Corix Utilities, has been tentatively permitted for construction. We are the only thing stopping the permit from going into effect. Wastewater from the plant flows through the park in an unnamed tributary before being discharged into the main stem of the river. This is one of our few publicly accessible natural areas and should be a jewel in the Lower Colorado River Authority’s crown, so we would hope they would want to protect it and the families that visit the park.

As a steward of the Colorado River, its tributaries and related aquifers, Environmental Stewardship, along with a coalition of concerned citizens in the region, are aggressively and proactively challenging these proposed additions by calling for (demanding) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to fulfill its obligations to put the health of the environment and our Colorado River BEFORE greedy developers. Environmental Stewardship and its members have been granted a contested case hearing with the State Office of Administrative Hearings on the Corix permit application. Our objective is to force regulatory agencies such as the TCEQ -- the agency that is the government's current steward of the river and that will ultimately issue or refuse these permits – to uphold the exceptionally high use standards on this river to the same standards the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would use under federal laws. We now have a Contested Case Hearing on the Corix application that is scheduled to be held before the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) on January 27-29, 2025 and need your help to fund this action.

NONE of what we are trying to accomplish comes cheaply. We are a non-profit that devotes each donated dollar we receive to pay professionals to gather and interpret critical data and to cogently argue the science that compels the decision making that citizens just like you are guardians of making. We are asking you to help us compel the TCEQ to present the information and results from the past 20 years of stewardship that will show that the river IS or IS NOT as healthy as it needs to be, to be able to receive the treated water that they propose to allow through these future permits. We additionally seek matching funds to accomplish these tasks from appropriate granting organizations.

To fund the projects we’ve described, we need to raise $50,000 within the next six months, Every dollar counts.

PLEASE consider your donation to Environmental Stewardship to be a donation to yourself. Through our actions, we protect the thing that is most dear and critical to your future and the future of your children’s children, the very important waters of our Texas Colorado River.

Environmental Stewardship is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your donations are tax deductible.

Please join me in making a difference for the future of the Texas Colorado River between Austin and Smithville, TX. The ecological health of this segment of the river is in question after many decades of neglect. We have an opportunity to bring this to the attention of state and local decision-makers but it will cost us some money. We have a good start, but need public donations to enable us to raise the rest of the money from foundation sources. The money to fund this project for our coalition of concerned citizens and organizations is being managed by Environmental Stewardship, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause. Those of you that know me, know that means a great deal to me and that I have been spearheading the drive to protect our river and groundwater resources for almost two decades now.

The funds raised will be used to pay professionals in the fields of water policy and science, along with our legal team, in making our case state law judges that this segment of the Colorado River needs urgent attention to ensure that it is meeting, and continues to meet the exceptional aquatic-life use of the river by fish, invertebrates, and other biological communities that make this stretch of the river their home. The judges will recommend actions that need to be taken to protect our river now and in the future.

Please join us now with your donations.

More information about Environmental Stewardship: Environmental Stewardship is a Texas IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advocates for the Texas Colorado River, its tributaries, bays, and associated groundwater. Our purposes are to protect our natural resources in order to meet current and future needs of the environment and humans; to use scientific information to sustain ecological services; and to do outreach and education that encourages public stewardship.