Neighbors near Hays Commons development worried about water supply [Video]

AUSTIN, Texas — In a tight room, environmental activists and some City of Hays community members prayed over their drinking water as they continued to fight the proposed 498-acre mixed-use project called Hays Commons. 

Located at the corner of FM 1626 and State Highway 45, the project site is in both Travis and Hays counties, with a portion of the land residing in the city of Austin’s Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). 

The proposed development would add 2,200 residents, including approximately 700 residential homesites, 10 acres of neighborhood commercial and vast parks and open spaces.

It’ll be on the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, which has sparked pollution concerns for neighbors like Carol Pennington. Like many in the rural small town, she uses wells fed by the aquifer. It also feeds …