01/26/2026
Meeting with Williamson County Judge Steven Snell
We attended a City Council member's Town Hall where County Judge Snell (standing to the far right in the photo) was one of the featured speakers. After the meeting, we approached Mr. Snell and asked him if he would be willing to meet with CREAM. He agreed and expressed interest in learning more about the local quarries. Therefore, while County Judge Snell is running for re-election; we approached this meeting differently in that this meeting was just with CREAM members and our consultant, Jill Shackelford (https://landstone.us/about-landstone/) to provide an overview.
Redevelopment of Quarry Properties
Judge Snell was shown a map created by CREAM with an aerial photo showing the cluster of quarries in Williamson County and their proximity to residential areas. We discussed the closure of Austin White Lime’s (AWL) quarry in 2024 and whether there are any future plans by the county to redevelop this 1200-acre property, similar to Lime Creek Quarry in Cedar Park or the former Stonelake Quarry in Austin. CREAM had heard that potential uses for AWL’s property might include: an AI data center or a new county justice complex. Judge Snell explained that AWL’s property is unlikely to become a data center since there is concern about consistent water and electricity. As for the new County Justice complex, the property is located too far from the other county operations and would be impractical.
$500,000 Regional Water Study (https://www.kxan.com/news/local/williamson-county/williamson-county-forms-regional-coalition-to-tackle-water-need)
Williamson County's (Wilco) regional study was funded for $500,000 in November and will forecast, and address water demands in the decades to come. The study is being conducted by Bob Daigh P.E., Senior Director of Infrastructure for Wilco and will include the biggest cities: Cedar Park, Leander, Round Rock, Georgetown plus the Brazos River Authority. Texas has 42 million acre-feet of water available as surface water and currently only uses 15 million acre-feet of water each year. Although this seems like a sufficient supply, future population growth and drought conditions could quickly erode what appears to be a surplus of water. The population in Wilco is expected to double by 2050 and is expected to eventually be larger than Travis County.
The Edwards and Trinity Aquifers in Central Texas are slow to recharge and are being depleted. Fortunately, the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer (located 80 miles east of Williamson County) recharges more quickly. The downside, however, is that it’s harder and more expensive to transport water 80 miles over county lines. Judge Snell indicated he would forward a copy to us of Williamson County’s previous study that was completed in 2024 on aquifers.
Judge Snell pointed out that the needs of each city are different. For example, Florence needs water today. Georgetown doesn’t need it now but will need more later. Aging infrastructure is another concern because water losses can be substantial. Georgetown is in a better position than some neighboring towns. Round Rock loses about 5% of their water. Granger and Austin have a lot of leaks. They don’t even know where the leaks are located. The Wilco study will evaluate various water sources and uses, that is, water reuse, desalination, and conservation. All options are on the table…Brazos River Authority, Lower Colorado River Authority, etc.
Water Consumption by Aggregate Production Operations (APOs) in Wilco
CREAM described how the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) evaluated water usage in 2022, including Wilco’s 39 active quarries. However, there were limitations to this study. It was a voluntary survey and a lot of APOs did not respond. TWDB needed to estimate usage for quite a few APOs. The TWDB study found that the APOs in Wilco draw 99% of their water from groundwater wells, 1% from surface water and 0% from recycled water.
TWDB has been mandated by the State legislature under Senate Bill (SB1) to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of using recycled wastewater at APOs. This study will be conducted in 2026 – 2027. Judge Snell said that Wilco has not reached out yet to TWDB to discuss any synergies between TWDB’s study funded by SB1 and Williamson County’s Regional Water Study.
Jill Shackelford described how her former quarry in Hays County installed and used “dry plant” controls with a vacuum system and bag house to control their dust and clean their aggregate product. These changes cut their water use by 80%. While these dry plant controls were expensive, the quarry remained profitable, avoided lawsuits and won awards for its environmental stewardship. Judge Snell asked whether there had been any subsidies or incentives by local government or regulatory agencies for this technology. Ms. Shackelford confirmed there were no incentives provided for her. However, in CREAM's viewpoint, this could be very beneficial since local governments provide incentives to existing businesses.
Wilco Citizens Advisory Council
Jill Shackelford started a Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) in Kerr County several years ago and developed a number of best management practices (BMP) with the support of the Kerr County Judge. Jill has also helped the City of Garden Ridge form a CAC in 2025 at the request of its Mayor. In 2025, Jill helped CREAM create a CAC in Williamson County and Martin Marietta participated in four meetings. Martin Marrietta has been very supportive and actively engaged. CREAM’s goal for 2026 is to have other quarries join the Wilco CAC and emulate Kerr County’s CAC model.
Kerr County developed and implemented voluntary BMPs for its quarries. CREAM explained that many of the BMPs are procedural, don’t cost any money or are common sense changes. For example, a quarry shouldn’t strip the vegetation from all its land but only in areas where active mining will occur. The goal of Voluntary BMPs is to show APOs how to be better neighbors and to share information and best practices among the quarries. Implementing BMPs can be good public relations for the APOs and will help them to avoid lawsuits. Ms. Shackelford clarified that Kerr County did not provide funding to implement the Voluntary BMPs – only to create the CAC.
CREAM requested funding from Wilco for Ms. Shackelford to help with expanding and strengthening Wilco’s CAC. Judge Snell agreed to look into possible funding sources and commented that the amount was not unreasonable.
CREAM also requested a government representative to lead the Wilco CAC, similar to Kerr County. Judge Snell agreed to brief his county commissioners on our request and possibly involve the mayors from Liberty Hill and Jarrell.
Closing
We greatly appreciate Judge Snell’s time and attention to these important issues for Williamson County residents. Both the County Judge and CREAM have action items to work on from this meeting. It is the hope of CREAM that the Wilco CAC will be seen by our County, City, and State representatives as a huge benefit in helping our quarries and concrete batch plants to be 'Better Neighbors'. CREAM is also very appreciative of Jill Shackelford's ongoing support and expertise.
