WHY PRESERVE BRODIE WILD?

Brodie Wild is a 4.4 acre tract of land existing in its natural state located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Slaughter Lane and Brodie Lane. Brodie Wild lies directly adjacent to the 272 unit multifamily commercial apartment complex proposed to be built by Walters Southwest on property owned by Bethany Lutheran Church. Bethany Lutheran Church is located across the street from Bowie High School on Slaughter Lane. Brodie Wild and the Bethany Church property are located directly above the environmentally sensitive Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone.

Several years ago the City of Austin received Brodie Wild in exchange for other property and designated it as a part of the Water Quality Protection Land (WQPL) program. Located on the property are four major sink holes - one large and three medium sized - as well as numerous smaller sinkholes. Sink holes drain directly into the Edwards Aquifer with little or no filtration through the limestone surrounding it. A usually dry creek also runs to the west. Brodie Wild is managed by the Native Plant Society of Texas - Austin Chapter under an agreement with the City. During rain events, the sink holes fill up with rain water as well as runoff from adjacent properties until the water discharges into the aquifer. Runoff from the impervious cover footprint contemplated by the proposed 272 unit apartment construction, trash or other pollutants reaching the sink holes or other areas of Brodie Wild will drain into the Edwards Aquifer and contribute to the existing water quality problems.

The City of Austin's website describes the Water Quality Protection Land program as follows:

"The Austin area lies above one of the most productive aquifers in the country, the Edwards Aquifer. However, the aquifer is also very vulnerable to pollution that can quickly travel through porous limestone layers from activities on the surface...The City of Austin proposed bonds in 1998 that were approved to purchase and manage land in this segment's watershed for water quality protection."

"The mission of the Water Quality Protection Land (WQPL) program is to acquire land in fee title and conservation easement in the Barton Springs contributing and recharge zone to provide for the conservation and maintain the safety of part of the City's water supply. The objective is to produce the optimum level of clean, high quality from project lands to recharge the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer."

In a conversation with the Native Plant Society of Texas - Austin Chapter, the Society expressed concern about the proposed construction of 272 units of multifamily apartments. The Society routinely cleans the Brodie Wild area, including the sink holes, to remove debris. They report that with the current state of development surrounding Brodie Wild, considerable trash and other debris collects in the sink holes.

It should be noted that there is a tipping point in environmentally sensitive areas like the Edwards Aquifer that once exceeded, cannot be corrected without spending huge amounts of money and waiting for long periods of time. Often the officials voting on development proposals tend to look only at the single project before them and do not consider the "big picture." The pollution created by one project may not, by itself, cause the Edwards Aquifer to become polluted. However, the combination of the pollution from many projects will one day surpass the tipping point and the Edwards Aquifer and Barton Springs, Austin's most famous recreational facility where Barton Creek bubbles to the surface, will be lost to us. Brodie Wild and its sink holes actively participate in the creation of the water source for the Edwards Aquifer and Barton Springs. This should be ample reason to work to protect Brodie Wild.

© 2008, Oak Parke Brodie Wild Preservation Group, Inc.