June 17, 2026 – The Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance has sent incident reports to federal, state and local agencies over suspected harmful stormwater runoff from Guajolote Ranch during heavy rainfall earlier this week, seeking investigations and corrective actions.
The reports were sent early Tuesday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Edwards Aquifer Authority and Bexar County.
They cover the period of June 13-15 in an around Grey Forest that received over four inches of rain, producing flooding accompanied by “visible sediment discharge originating from active construction sites” of Guajolote Ranch, the controversial development of Lennar Homes of Texas Inc. in northwest Bexar County.
Multiple residents observed creeks that turned a pale, milky, muddy color inconsistent with natural stormwater, and also at the Grey Forest swimming hole where an unusual odor also was detected that long-time residents reported never encountering before. The flooding carried visible silt downstream, impairing not only recreational water bodies but possibly water quality, aquatic habitat and public health, according to the reports.
Of primary concern was flooding of Helotes Creek and its tributaries, the most significant being Cates Creek which originates above the Altair neighborhood north of Grey Forest. Cates Creek crosses a 63-acre tract that comprises the main access to the proposed Guajolote Ranch development that is undergoing significant clearing, grading and earth-moving.
According to Bexar County deed records, that property is still owned by retired Valero Energy Corp. executive Sidney E. “Gene” Edwards Jr. and wife Marcie, now of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with Lennar holding an option to purchase it as part of the overall development. The other 1,097 acres of the development is still owned by for-profit Guajolote Ranch Inc. of Terrell Hills, controlled by treasurer Richard H. “Rick” LePere.
“As a result of clearing and bulldozing in the creek bed, as observed by EPA officials, we believe that significant silting, sedimentation and turbidity to Cates and Helotes creeks, and possibly to the groundwater as well, may have occurred as a result of the ongoing work on this property,” Randy Neumann, chair of the steering committee of the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance, writes in cover letters to the incident reports. The alliance had hosted EPA officials on a recent tour of the area, as well as representatives of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
The reports further charge that best management practices (BMPs) appear to have failed on the upstream construction sites, and that at least one of the Bexar County clearing/stormwater permits issued to Lennar reportedly waived BMP requirements altogether – raising concerns about compliance with stormwater regulations and the Clean Water Act.
Lennar has run afoul of Clean Water Act provisions before, when in 2019, it violated significant provisions of a settlement agreement as well as TCEQ-issued permits to meet Clean Water Act requirements for 4S Ranch in Bulverde.
“During the 4.1-inch storm of Oct. 24, 2019, stormwater laden with mud and debris from construction of the subdivision deluged a contiguous property,” recounted Annalisa Peace, executive director of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, in the San Antonio Express-News in 2025. That meant that Lennar not only was in violation of the settlement, she said, but also of the TCEQ permits and the Clean Water Act.
By then, however, it was too late to secure permanent protection of recharge features that were violated. Then, as with Guajolote Ranch now, Lennar’s contractor was Pape-Dawson Engineers Inc., plus one other entity.
The incident reports filed by Neumann cite the following issues requiring investigation:
- Failure of required stormwater BMPs on active construction sites.
- Possible unauthorized discharge of sediment and other pollutants into state waters.
- Potential violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 402 (stormwater construction general permit).
- Potential violation of Edwards Aquifer protection standards for the Contributing Zone.
- Public health concerns related to recreational water use in Grey Forest.
- County-issued BMP waivers that may have contributed to the impairment.
- Of special concern: The springs which feed the swimming hole in Grey Forest are running muddy water. Longtime residents can never recall this happening before. The springs have always run clear. This raises obvious concerns about well water impacts in the area.
The reports close with these requested actions:
- Immediate site inspection of the Edwards and Guajolote construction areas.
- Sampling and documentation of water quality conditions in Cate’s Creek, Helotes Creek and the Grey Forest swimming hole.
- Verification of BMP installation, adequacy and compliance with state and federal stormwater requirements.
- Review of Bexar County’s BMP waiver and its role in the observed impairment.
- Enforcement action if violations are confirmed, including corrective measures to prevent further discharges.
An open question is whether the landowners essentially are staying on as co-developers until Lennar takes “just-in-time” ownership to pour the first slab – if it gets that far – possibly keeping them on the hook for potential environmental damages or other claims, even if that’s not Lennar’s intention.
Here is a version of the incident report that went to each party: https://www.scenicloop.org/wp-content/uploads/INCIDENT-REPORT-3.pdf
And here are the cover letters to each:
EPA: https://www.scenicloop.org/wp-content/uploads/EPA.pdf
TCEQ: https://www.scenicloop.org/wp-content/uploads/TCEQ.pdf
TPWD: https://www.scenicloop.org/wp-content/uploads/TPWD.pdf
EAA: https://www.scenicloop.org/wp-content/uploads/EAA.pdf
Bexar County: https://www.scenicloop.org/wp-content/uploads/County.pdf
Pictures and links:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qg3eet9wy09nik0rq7gxs/Incident-Report-Pics-Docs.zip?rlkey=6x3lqz3w1crdj0g2855yiav2a&dl=0
The Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) group representing the largest neighborhood by square mile recognized by the San Antonio Neighborhood & Housing Services Department, a wide corridor along Scenic Loop Road from Bandera Road to north of Babcock Road.
CONTACTS:
Steve Lee, 210-415-2402, text; media@scenicloop.org
Randy Neumann, 210-867-2826; uhit@aol.com
Photos of the Grey Forest swimming hole, historically and on Monday, June 15.
(Credit: Annie McEntire)