Barton Springs Public Process

BartonSpringsPublic Process has been created to provide information about saving the Barton Springs Heritage Trees, links to documents relevant to the care and maintenance and best use of Barton Springs and a calendar of upcoming meetings.

After Parks Director Sara Hensley responded to public input and saved 33 trees in and around Bartons Springs Pool, which the City of Austin had deemed should be cut, the site expanded is scope to a series of other issues that presented threats to the natural habitat and the public’s use of the pool. These include

• Mowing practices that lead to a tractor falling into the pool
• A Big Dredge that is planned to remove gravel from one end of the pool
• Plans to rebuild a 35 year old bypass tunnel that consultants hired by the City of Austin to be in danger of overturning or floating away and taking out the downstream dam in the event.
• The merits or dangers of the Barton Springs Master Plan, which so far has cost the City of Austin hundreds of thousands of dollars (details TK) continues to be debated by those who care about the public park we enjoy.

The site was full of information about the trees, plans to repair the Bypass Tunnel, lawn mowing issues, information about the planned Big Dredge and more–but in early 2010 the site was repeatedly hacked.

What you are seeing now represents an attempt to replace that site and to put up new, urgent information while we gradually restore important information that was lost. It is under construction and will start looking better and including more information as more people step forward to assist in the volunteer work.

Visit and join the Barton Springs Yahoo Group for group email about the pool, photos, links and documents about the pool’s policies and history. Find links to real-time data on water flow in Barton Springs and Barton Creek.