Waterboarded in South Austin

After a series of regulatory assaults on a small sober living residence in South Austin, the Slaughter Creek Acres Water Supply Corp. has agreed to give owner Polly Par­sons three months to work on an exit strategy to sever her rocky relationship with the water supplier.

That decision was made as Parsons was still in crisis mode, desperately trying to locate a mystery leak on her property that she was told was losing 3,300 gallons of water a day. She said a water board member, Mike Dorsey, called her Sept. 16 to tell her of the leak and recommended she call his plumber, who found no leak. A second plumber also came up empty. Finally, a third plumber located and capped the leak, solving the problem.

On Sept. 17, the day after the leak alert, Parsons appeared before the water board to discuss a separate matter, this one involving adjacent property she owns as part of her Hickory Wind Ranch sober living program. The property includes both a residence and a small guest house where women in recovery live, paying what they can afford. The water board had threatened to terminate her water unless she ceased using the guest house, even though the tiny structure isn't equipped with a kitchen (see "Sober Living Dealt Splash of Cold Water," Sept. 17).

Parsons described last week's board meeting as "surreal," but board President Glenn Larkin offered a different account, summing up the actions as just another routine business meeting. "We did grant [Parsons] the three months," Larkin said, referring to the time she was given to look for an alternative.

At this point, Parsons says her best option is to apply for her own well permit. Should that happen, Larkin said, the water supply board would have no further jurisdiction over Parsons' properties. Parsons isn't so sure. "We feel the chances are that these water board people are trying to financially stress us to the point of closing down," she wrote this week in an e-mail sent to supporters and other local operators of sober houses.

Parsons opened Hickory Wind a year ago as a tribute to her father, singer-songwriter legend Gram Parsons, who died of a drug overdose in 1973. Parsons' tribute, while widely praised in Austin, particularly in the music community, has placed her squarely on the radar of local regulators, one of which in May cited the women's residence for a septic tank violation.

Three Austin lawyers were scheduled to meet with Parsons this week to provide pro bono assistance – not on the water matter, exactly, but on helping to craft and lobby for legislation that would protect sober living facilities from being targeted for minor violations. "We're looking at the bigger picture," said attorney Lee Ann Alexan­der. "We're trying to do something to help people with addiction issues." Getting language on the books – whether at the local or state level – would be a good place to start.