Up On Mystery Creek, there’s a fight brewin’.

Mr. Moneybags has quietly been buyin’ up people’s spreads all over Austin.

Just like in the days of old, the new Cyber Barons are turning the landscape into their personal playground.

This time around; 

Instead of cows and oil wells,

It’s skyscrapers and (straight-up-and-down, ram-‘em-in-there-anywhere-you-can) apartment buildings.

Now, as then; Old Moneybags (with way more money than any of us will see in our entire lifetimes) has outsized power and influence with our the authorities.

These deep pocketed individuals have convinced our elected officials of the inevitability of their schemes and have co-opted the public’s will.

Especially, it’s treatment of our local communities and regarding treatment of the Land; and who and what has the Rights to that most crucial element of Central Texas life: WATER.

Mystery Creek (and her two sister creeks) are part of an ephemeral stream network that has been a part of the Williamson Creek Watershed since way before Europeans settled in Central Texas. 

Development now occupies a large part of the meadow Mystery Creek once ran through on its’s way the Williamson Creek. Only a small, but vital section remains. 

Vital, why?

Mystery Creek is fed by an artesian spring; meaning; when it rains upstream, somewhere; the weight of all that water “pushes” underground water up, to the the surface, in fault lines, creating perennial pools and sometimes the occasional ephemeral creek, like Mystery Creek. That “quiet” water source has been nourishing our forested neighborhood for a very long time.

The Austin area is known for its beautiful landscapes, but what has made them thrive is the dynamic nature of the indigenous ecology. We live on an ancient seabed. The limestone we see everywhere around us is the skeletal accretion of millions of years worth of corals; living out their lives, one-atop-another for countless generations.  As a result the Hill Country is a big bock of white caliche and limestone penetrated by a series of cracks and fissures. Ever hear of Balcones Fault or Inner Space Cavern? 

This geology makes our ground; 

depending on where you live;

either, very porous (great for filtration) 

or 

very shallow, limestone bedrock (does not absorb water, at all).

One might say: porous = environmentally sensitive 

                         bedrock = prone to flash flooding 

Our present day building standards and practices have had major (and sometimes catastrophic) impacts on sensitive recharge zones. The channelization of our inner urban, ephemeral creeks  has unintentionally, setup the ever growing threat of flooding in South and East Austin. Particularly, Waller and Williamson Creeks. 

Moving this water along too rapidly is multiplying the extreme fire danger in Southwest Austin, as well. Remember the Oak Hill fire? That was way too close and just a hint at the potential for future disasters!

Getting a complete hydro/geologic study of the Colorado River (aka, Ladybird Lake, Lake Austin, etc) all the way from Mansfield Dam to Montopolis is something that needs to be done. 

Further impacts to the environment and catastrophic flooding can be prevented with the proper consideration for natural systems. Having a proper development tool like a comprehensive watershed survey would help everyone. 

For right now though, it’s one-creek-at-a-time.

Let’s Save Mystery Creek and the Lost Creeks of Austin (and save our city in the process).