BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A northwest Bexar County nonprofit filed incident reports with federal, state and local agencies over apparent stormwater runoff from a development project following recent heavy rainfall, according to a news release.
The Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance sent the reports Tuesday to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Edwards Aquifer Authority and Bexar County.
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The reports cover a June 13-15 storm event in and around Grey Forest that produced more than four inches of rain, the release said.
Residents reported creeks turning a "pale, milky, muddy color" and an unusual odor at the Grey Forest swimming hole — conditions they said are inconsistent with normal stormwater.
The flooding also carried visible silt downstream, which raised residents’ concerns about water quality, aquatic habitat and public health, the alliance said.
The reports point to active construction sites at Guajolote Ranch, a Lennar Homes development project, as the suspected source.
The main concern was the flooding of Helotes Creek and its tributary, Cates Creek, according to the release.
“As a result of clearing and bulldozing in the creek bed, as observed by EPA officials, we believe that significant silting, sedimentation and turbidity to Cates and Helotes creeks, and possibly to the groundwater as well, may have occurred as a result of the ongoing work on this property,” Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance Steering Committee Chair Randy Neumann said in the release.
The reports allege that best management practices failed at upstream construction sites. The group said at least one Bexar County clearing permit issued to Lennar Corporation reportedly waived BMP requirements, which could potentially noncompliant with the Clean Water Act.
The alliance is requesting immediate site inspections, water quality sampling of Cates Creek, Helotes Creek and Grey Forest’s swimming hole.
If violations have been found, the group is also asking for enforcement action.
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