Herald-Zeitung Article

This article was in the Herald Zeitung on April 17, 2002.

To the good people of New Braunfels,
I implore the citizens of New Braunfels to petition your city council to upgrade the water quality standard of the effluent of your sewage plants without waiting for the TNRCC to wade through the permit process. There are three good reasons why you should proceed now:

• Preserving the river is the right thing to do.
• Preserving the river is in best interest of your city's economic future.
• Preserving the river is economically feasible for New Braunfels.

Preserving The River Is The Right Thing To Do

When you dump chemicals into the Guadalupe River you are using the river as an extension of your sewer system. The concept of using American Rivers to dispose of sewage and industrial waste has been soundly rejected by the American people in the past few decades. There are nationwide efforts to clean up our rivers. At the same time, New Braunfels is bucking this trend by polluting the Guadalupe River and its lakes below your city.
At the April 9, 2002, TNRCC hearing on the NBU water quality permit, the strongest testimony I have ever heard was presented that leaves no doubt that NBU is the culprit messing up the lakes. While the NBU and TNRCC representatives squirmed in their seats and claimed they just were not sure that the NBU facility was at fault, over a dozen studies performed from 1981 to present were cited that pointed to NBU as the polluting culprit. All agree that your sewage effluent meets a minimum TNRCC effluent standard but consider that that standard also applies to the Houston Ship Channel.
In an attempt to put this problem in perspective, I asked the NBU representatives if they would have any objection if 4 million gallons of sewage effluent meeting the NBU water quality standard were dumped into Landa Lake each day. The question was diverted to the TNRCC as though it were a technical question. The real intent of course was to ask a citizen of New Braunfels if they would treat your pristine Comal River in the same manner you are treating the Guadalupe and its lakes downstream of your city.
I firmly believe that once the citizens of New Braunfels have all the facts they will want to do the right thing by their neighbors.

Preserving The River Is In Best Interest Of New Braunfels' Economic Future

At the TNRCC hearing a NBU representative stated that the rated capacity of the sewage plants was good for another 4 years at the projected population growth. Having seen the results of an overloaded sewage plant in Lubbock, TX in 1960,. When a plant is overloaded it simply acts as a big filter. The water coming out is clear but deadly.
I can assure you that the only way to prevent NBU from adding pathogens to the Guadalupe River, along with the phosphorus you are now dumping, will be to stop adding connections to the sewage plants when they are at full capacity. That means zero growth - which personally I find appealing but I doubt your business community feels the same. It takes time to design, build and finance such a project and you should start now.