THE PGA VILLAGE DEBATE

By: Ben Beyer & Blake Kridel

THE PROPOSAL

PGA Village DevelopmentLand: 2,855 AcresDeveloper: Lumbermen’s Investment Corp.

Three Championship Golf Courses1,500 single-family homes1,500 apartment units 500 timeshares 500 condominiumsTwo hotels (Marriot and Ritz Carlton)

THE CONTROVERSY

PROPONENTS Sports enthusiasts and economic development advocates see the potential resort

as a welcome addition to the city and believe it would make San Antonio one of the top golf destinations in the country drawing in high-end tourists and new businesses.

OPPONENTS Those opposed with the location of the new resort are concerned with the

environmental effects such a large project would have on the sensitive recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer. More specifically, opponents fear the water supply could become contaminated from treated wastewater, fertilizer and chemicals used on the golf course.

Opponents also believe the resort will use a public subsidy to draw low-paying jobs to an area that should not be developed

THE LOCATION

THE EDWARDS AQUIFER REGION

THE EDWARDS AQUIFER

The Edwards Aquifer is a unique groundwater system and one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world.  It is one of the greatest natural resources on Earth, serving the diverse agricultural, industrial, recreational, and domestic needs of almost two million users in south central Texas. 

Groundwater System- water within the earth that supplies wells and springs; water in the zone of saturation where all openings in rocks and soil are filled, the upper surface of which forms the water table.

Artesian Aquifer- a geologic formation in which water is under sufficient

hydrostatic pressure to be discharged to the surface without pumping.

RECHARGE ZONE

The recharge zone is a 1500 square mile area where highly faulted and fractured Edwards limestones outcrop at the land surface, allowing large quantities of water to flow into the Aquifer.

RECHARGE ZONE

THE DEBATEThe Effects on the Recharge Zone

OPPONENTS PGA Village would be located over

some of the most vulnerable portions of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone to be found in Bexar County. Our water will be subject to contamination from golf course pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides and effluent from a proposed sewage treatment facility.

PROPONENTS The Edwards Aquifer Authority, the

San Antonio Water System and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission have been consulted to help design a system that monitors water quality in the watershed that flows through the resort

The system also would examine runoff from numerous points on the golf courses and evaluate groundwater flows to determine if pesticides or other harmful applications are seeping through.

THE DEBATEThe Effects on the Recharge Zone

OPPONENTS Our water will be subject to

contamination from golf course pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides and effluent from a proposed sewage treatment facility

PROPONENTS Over 80% of the recharge zone in

Bexar County is already developed with unregulated uses.

In the proposed agreement and in recognition of the sensitivity of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, the developer agreed to voluntarily expand the monitoring and enforcement capabilities of SAWS and the City of San Antonio over the project.

Recent geologic studies done in conjunction with SAWS have determined that only approximately 15% (425 acres) of the property actually recharges the Edwards Aquifer.

CONTAMINATED WATER IS A THREAT TO THE ENGANDERED SPECIES OF THE EDWARDS

AQUIFER

Texas Blind Salamander (Typhlomolge rathbuni)

Fountain Darter (Etheostoma fonticola)

San Marcos Gambusia (Gambusia georgei)

Texas Wild Rice (Zizania texana)

THE DEBATEECONOMIC ISSUES

OPPONENTS PGA Village will generate mostly low

wage jobs. Approval would be inconsistent with the City's call for "living wages." PGA Village golf course and hotels would be effectively inaccessible to many of those who need jobs the most. This project will amount to another tax give-away to our low-wage, dead-end-job tourist industry.

PROPONENTS Total estimated economic impact of

the project on San Antonio (first two years) equals $311.53 million dollars. The economic benefit over the life of the development agreement while difficult to calculate could amount to several billion dollars.

The project will generate approximately 1,200 new jobs with competitive pay, benefits, training and career advancement opportunities.

Bexar County Hospital District, Alamo Community College District, Judson and the North East Independent School Districts will collect 100% of their tax revenues during the life of the District while having to educate fewer school age children due to the reduction in the total number of residences housing children.

THE DEBATEWater Consumption

OPPONENTS The three golf courses would

represent additional overall water consumption at a rate of nearly 1.8 million gallons a day during the hot summer months.

PROPONENTS Water consumption under the

project would be reduced by at least 50%, compared to the alternative residential development.

The Opinion of Dr. Gardner Dr. Tom Gardner, a geologist at Trinity University who studies hydrology and landscape

evolution, said he does not believe the resort by itself would endanger the aquifer.

Dr. Gardner believes that the Edwards Aquifer is too difficult for anyone to understand. Scientist will have different opinions about the effects of the PGA Village because no one completely understands the Aquifer.

Dr. Gardner believes that the recharge zone has and will continue to be contaminated with any type of development. He believes that the PGA Village would be under too strict of environmental regulations to harm the Aquifer.

"What I'm saying is that I don't think it's going to do squat to the Edwards Aquifer one way or another."