Uh-oh! Search resumes for site of future water tower

On Monday, BexarMet’s Board of Directors unanimously agreed to suspend plans to build an elevated water tower within Timber Oaks North, a quiet neighborhood just north of Stone Oak.  The decision was met with applause from surrounding residents who have vigorously fought construction of the tower since the water district purchased a 1.35-acre tract of land in May.

During last week’s meeting of the Stone Oak Advisory Committee, BexarMet Board Member Lesley Wenger called the Timber Oaks site inappropriate.  “It doesn’t appear the property purchased was probably the right property,” she said.

Wenger also warned Stone Oak residents that local and state officials were pushing BexarMet to return to the original plan of building a water tower near the Estates at Champions Run off of Canyon Golf Road.  Wenger said she is not in favor of that location either.

Fearing decreased property values, homeowners within Champions Run and the neighboring Champions Ridge strongly opposed construction of an elevated water tower near their neighborhoods when BexarMet first made the attempt roughly two years ago.  The site was eventually scratched, although BexarMet insists the property’s elevation, not community outcry, was the reason the district decided to look elsewhere. 

This past January, BexarMet’s Board of Directors voted to acquire another piece of property through eminent domain.  Located nearly adjacent to the Timber Oaks North site, the land was part of an old ranch owned by two sisters who were not interested in selling.  The water district was continuing efforts to acquire the property, which would have cost BexarMet roughly $1 million, when this latest location surfaced.  BexarMet purchased the Timber Oaks North tract for $145,000, plus an additional $45,000 to relocate an existing cell phone tower. 

BexarMet has yet to announce what will become of the Timber Oaks North land. 

An elevated tank has been required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality since 2001 to support the Hill County system and increase water pressure in Stone Oak.