Groundwater Stakeholder Implementation Committee begins process of finding solutions
Staff Reports
BUDA – Whispering Hollow Subdivision residents who chose to participate as part of a Groundwater Stakeholder Implementation Committee (GSIC) met for the first time Thursday, Feb. 27, to begin charting a way forward in bringing recommendations to Buda’s City Council for consideration. The meeting was held from 6:30 – 7:45 p.m. in Room 1005 of the Buda Municipal Building 100, 405 E. Loop Street.
The GSIC resulted after city officials hosted two groundwater study stakeholder meeting for Whispering Hollow Subdivision residents on Monday, Jan. 10 and Thursday, Jan. 27. Attendees of those meetings saw a presentation on the Wild Wind Cove Groundwater Seepage Study and Recommendations before posing questions about the study for City staff to address.
City staff explained the desire of the City Council to form from interested stakeholders an Implementation Committee that would evaluate at the recommendations provided in the study and discuss other potential solutions to recommend to the Council.
City staff members who facilitated the meeting helped establish the parameters for the GSIC to focus on the study that was performed and those who are directly affected by the study. The Wild Wind Cove Study outlined four options related to mitigating groundwater seepage:
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1. Do nothing.
2. Route sump pump discharge directly into storm sewer.
3. Pursue installation of City-owned dewatering infrastructure.
4. Provide guidance to homeowners on sump pump improvement.
The participants indicated no interest in the first option. Some were hesitant about the second option. They showed no interest in the third option and expressed hesitancy about the operation and maintenance associated with the last option.
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Some of the questions residents posed related to the size of the perched aquifer, who would maintain the proposed infrastructure if implemented and whether or not there was a way to redirect the water.
The GSIC spent time brainstorming additional options and opened the discussion to alternatives that could be posed as options for the City Council. Those ideas were recorded and are being reviewed internally for feasibility and associated costs.
The latter part of the meeting concluded with residents sharing personal stories, expressing what they felt were concerns related to Americans with Disabilities Act issues within the neighborhood, and City staff providing an update on Middle Creek Road reconstruction.
For information about future GSIC meeting times and locations, please contact Buda’s Senior Project Engineer, Angela Kennedy at 512-523-0084.
