A developer is hard at work in Hays County, and their construction project is leaving a giant mess that's flooding down into local creeks.
"I have never seen it in the 34 years that I've lived out here run a milk color," neighbor John Ahrns said.
You can see the difference in the water's clarity when you compare a nearby creek to the one with all the pollution.
Putting your hand in the water stirs up clouds of debris, and all that debris is floating down to Hamilton Pool. It was once a pristine grotto where you could see turtles at the bottom, but now it's just a murky mess.
The developer got slapped with a $85,000 fine for the pollution, but he's still constructing, which is frustrating to Travis and Hays County Commissioners who feel powerless to do anything about it.
"We have limited authority when it comes to development and land use, and also even water code enforcement," Hays Co. Commissioner Karen Ford said.
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Pool pollution
County commissioners feel helpless to stop the development that is clouding Hamilton Pool.
 
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It's a problem for Texas counties where development is at a brisk pace. Some legislators say counties do need more regulating power, but they can't get new laws passed by their colleagues.
"Part of it is just the whole history of counties being so closely tied to state government, being agents of the state, and so there's a lot of history to overcome," Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, said.
County commissioners had to deal with a similar situation back in July. Houston-based Sun Coast Resources planned to build a fuel distribution center in Southeast Travis County.
Neighbors didn't want it there, and neither did county commissioners, but because they couldn't regulate development, commissioners had to allow Sun Coast to build.
