Environmentalists raise concerns about Hill Country project

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Express-News reports a proposed 1,100-home development in the Hill Country has residents and environmental groups raising questions about the project’s potential impact on the local water supply and the environment Miami-based developer Lennar Corporation filed a permit application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to build a wastewater treatment facility to serve the proposed project, would would be built near Comfort in Kendall County. The development, referred to as “Comfort 590” in the application, is planned for about 600 acres of undeveloped land east of U.S. 87, about 4 miles north of Comfort, according to TCEQ documents. Comfort is an unincorporated community near the border of Kendall and Kerr counties. The area’s population is about 2,200 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The proposed wastewater plant could eventually treat up to 600,000 gallons of wastewater a day, according to TCEQ documents. The treated wastewater would be discharged into an “unnamed tributary,” flowing into North Creek, Cypress Creek and ending up in the Guadalupe River above Canyon Lake, according to the application. The wastewater would be treated with chlorine, then dechlorinated using ultraviolet light before it is discharged, according to the application. If approved, construction on the wastewater treatment plant could start in September, with the treatment plant operating by March 2026 and reaching full capacity by March 2028, according to TCEQ documents. Lennar Homes representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.