SAN ANTONIO – After years of fearing the rain, homeowners in a far north Bexar County neighborhood left the Bexar County Courthouse smiling into an overcast Tuesday afternoon.
Bexar County commissioners approved $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the Villas at Timberwood Homeowners Association so it can connect to the San Antonio Water System. The pandemic-era federal funding means the 75 homes in neighborhood will be able to get free of the “poorly designed, inadequate” on-site septic facility that has plagued the neighborhood for a decade, and which homeowners and county staff say could threaten the Edwards Aquifer - San Antonio’s main water supply.
The project was one of three that commissioners approved for a total of $5.3 million in ARPA funding on Tuesday. Commissioner Rebecca Clay-Flores abstained from the vote, which passed without any dissent.
The county called the neighborhood’s current septic system a “threat to public health” as the sewage leaks are occurring within the Edwards Aquifer Contribution Zone, Camp Bullis 5-Mile Awareness Zone, Mud Creek sewer shed, and 100-year floodplain.
The neighborhood is only about 12 years old, but homeowners say the community septic system that was included as part of the development is “disastrous.”
Homeowners say they’re often asked not to shower or wash clothes if it’s raining too much, and one man said there was a pipe at one point that would spew water “25 feet or more into the air.” An HOA board member says depending on the weather, gray water from the system can end up in a standing pool on the septic field.
“What happens, it ends up trickling down toward Mustang Creek, and that’s where it ends up,” Tommy Marty told KSAT.
Homeowners say it’s not a matter of whether their system will fail, but “when.” The only solution, they said, is to connect to SAWS, which will cost about $2.5 million.
HOA President Roy Block warned commissioners that, otherwise, there would be a “perfect storm” someday that would end with sewage ending up in the nearby Mustang Creek.
“We’re going to have a scenario where we’re going to have a high water table,” he said. “We’re going to have all the other elements that contribute to it. With the water coming in, with the sewage going out - not to where it’s supposed to go, but overflowing.”
“I don’t want the headline to be in tomorrow’s paper: ‘Those in Timberwood pollute the Edwards Aquifer.’”
The HOA sued the original developer, Timberwood Development Company, and a homebuilder, Chesmar Homes, in 2019 over the septic system. Marty told commissioners on Tuesday they had reached a “significant” settlement, but it is not enough to cover the full costs of connecting to SAWS.
Bexar County court records indicate the case is still ongoing. But when KSAT asked Marty about it following the meeting, the HOA’s attorney said they could not discuss the details.