According to a recent article in the Marble Falls Highlander weekly newspaper, several communities around the Highland Lakes will petition the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to ask that the state's ban on releasing treated wastewater into the Highland Lakes be lifted.
 
The May, 2009, edition of Water Matters newsletter contained a related article about an LCRA study that enabled that agency to simulate the effect on the water clarity of Lake Travis that might result from new releases of treated wastewater into the lake. That study, titled CREMS (Colorado River Environmental Models Project), which will soon be extended to include Lake LBJ, was begun in 2004 under the direction of LCRA manager Lisa Hatzenbuehler. So, this initiative to lift the no-discharge rule comes as no surprise to LCRA, which has been preparing itself for several years to evaluate the threat to the water quality of the Highland Lakes resulting from any change in the TCEQ rules regarding wastewater effluent discharge.
 
The cities that have so far endorsed the idea of lifting the no-discharge rule include Marble Falls, Kingsland, Granite Shoals and Leander. The city staff of the City of Jonestown has also pointed out the economic advantages of discharging effluent into the lakes, although the city council itself has not so far expressed any preference in the matter. Leander is currently asking for a large increase in its water supply from Lake Travis under its contract with LCRA.
 
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