BURNING QUESTIONS

I'm not sure how to describe my experience on Tuesday. Educational? Eye-opening? Disheartening? All of the above? An e-mail made its way around town Monday evening, warning everyone in Wimberley of another high-density development that was coming up for preliminary approval at Tuesday's county commissioners' meeting. Since our groundwater supply is already seriously depleted, and many wells have gone dry, the idea of straining it further with yet another development such as this is seriously abhorrent, but somehow they keep getting approval. So, the Muses and I decided that, instead of meeting for our usual coffee that day, we would join the 40 or 50 other concerned citizens who were heading to the county courthouse in San Marcos to attend the commissioner's meeting - a first for me. In general, I am a very apolitical person. You need to know that, in order to understand what radical behavior this is for me.

Here is how it went: One after another, concerned citizens and learned members of various environmental task forces got up to express their dismay, citing authoritative reports which insist that our water supply is already overtaxed not only by drought, but also by unsustainable usage, and that adding another high density development is a recipe for disaster (Why have you invested millions into the development of The Blue Hole and Jacob's Well as state parks, if you are going to let them go dry?). There was a lot of head nodding by the judge and commissioners, words of agreement and understanding, for after all, they said, we live here too and are just as concerned as you. Then one by one, they unanimously voted to give the developer preliminary approval. Why? Because "their hands are tied." Although they did swear to protect the interests of their constituents, they also swore to uphold the law, and until the Texas legislature gets around to changing those laws, there is absolutely nothing they can do. Sadly, that is true. Their hands are tied. As long as the developers meet what is required by law, they have no choice but to give them approval. So, my first burning question is, what can we do to untie their hands?

If you live anywhere in the area, I guess one place to start is here. Let that sucker know how you feel! You might also try to contact these guys: Rick Perry (512-463-2000) State Capitol Room 25.1, Austin, TX. 78701; David Dewhurst (512-463-0001) P.O. Box 12068, Austin, TX. 78711-2068; Jeff Wentworth (210-826-7800) 1250 Loop 410, Suite 925, San Antonio, TX. 78209.

Unfortunately, that was not even the most disturbing part of the debacle. What really upset me was when one of the commissioners posed a question to the audience. He started off by saying "This may be the first time for many of you to sit in on one of these meetings, and I realize you are upset. The wolf has finally reached your back door, and now it has become really personal. But what you have to understand is, we hear from people like you every single week. Districts throughout the Hill Country are concerned about water, and most of them have taken steps to conserve what little they have. My own district has enacted very strict mandatory water rationing measures, as have many others. What about Wimberley? What have you done?" So there's my second burning question: What have we done? As far as I know, Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Oh, I know lots of individuals that are taking measures. I myself only do the long hair washing shower every other day now, and never fill a bathtub. My car hasn't been washed in months, and I don't even flush the toilet every time I use it (I've adopted Barbara Kingsolver's motto: If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down!) But is that enough? If Wimberley really cares as much as we all claim to, why haven't we enacted any mandatory restrictions?