Gena Gonzalez received a notice from the city of Elgin in October of last year, alerting her that the 38-acre tract of land just over her property line would be annexed for a wastewater treatment plant. At full capacity, the plant will pump 6 million gallons of treated wastewater (effluent) a day into nearby Dry Creek.
Gonzalez and her brother, Christopher Scott, live in Littig, just outside the Elgin city limits. Scott raises cattle on the property but is a carpenter by trade.
The pair pays taxes to both Bastrop and Travis County, but neither provides water to Littig. Most residents rely on septic systems. The community is composed of tradesmen like Scott and service workers like Gonzalez, a phlebotomist. Many raise livestock or farm.
Like many residents, Gonzalez, Scott, and their sister Alaona have roots in Littig spanning centuries. Gonzalez noted, “My great-great-great grandfather was Jackson Morrow,” one of the first Black landowners in Texas.
Twenty days after notices were sent out, the site was annexed into Elgin’s jurisdiction. Many of Gonzalez’s neighbors say they did not receive any notice at all for the annexation.
The city’s only existing plant was upgraded in 2024 to handle 2 million gallons daily. To meet current and future development needs, the city included plans to construct a second plant in its Capital Improvement Plan. In July 2025, the Elgin City Council authorized a $5.1 million bid from engineering consulting firm Ward, Getz & Associates to develop a site plan. Funding for the project comes from development and impact fees collected by the city.
“The new development along the west side of County Line Road and other developments has brought it to the forefront and made it a greater priority for City Council,” stated Public Works Director Michael Gonzalez. The new plant will service developments miles away, not the people of Littig.
“This is all for profit, with no consideration for the actual Littig community.”
Christopher Scott
“We feel that systemic racism is being put upon us in this community. Human health and lives are under attack. The agricultural and farming community is under attack,” Scott said. “There’s an influx of development coming in. This is all for profit, with no consideration for the actual Littig community.”
Founded in 1883 on land donated by Jackson Morrow, Littig is a Freedom Colony originally composed of formerly enslaved people. It once had a lively downtown with a post office, churches, and two schools. The bustling community died down over the 20th century, but the history remains, and many families residing in Littig now are descendants of the original residents.
To assess the proposed site’s history, Elgin submitted a draft archaeological review to the Texas Historical Commission last year. Ms. Gonzalez states that she also sent pictures of artifacts found on the site to the THC, and that the city now has to conduct a secondary review.
After receiving notice, Ms. Gonzalez spread the word about the proposed construction. The community voiced their concerns twice: once by public comment at the Elgin City Council’s Dec. 2 meeting, and again at a public meeting held at Shiloh Baptist Church. The community claims that they received inadequate notice for the annexation.
Juanita Valarie Neidig has lived on her property in Littig for 30 years. On top of what felt like short notice for the community, Neidig has claimed that the plan for the WWTP is a form of environmental racism, stating that the site is located in close proximity to a community of color.
“The city looked at multiple properties in that region,” Director Gonzalez stated. Elgin took into consideration expansion capabilities, flood risk, and proximity to a lift station.
“We are not the only area with a lift station,” Ms. Gonzalez said. A map drawn by the TRC Engineering Firm shows 11 active lift stations throughout the city of Elgin.
Three alternative sites were considered for the plant, according to documents provided to the Chronicle by the city. Of the sites provided, two fell within the 100-year floodplain, and the third would have required an additional conservation easement.
Before annexing the land for the proposed site, the city notified properties within 200 feet of the plant of the annexation, in compliance with state guidelines. Rachel Sterling-Brown, who lives across the street from the Morrow descendants, said she did not receive notice. Nor did Neidig, who lives less than half a mile from the site.
After being pressed at the Shiloh public meeting by Scott, Mayor Theresa McShan revealed, “I did not take Littig into consideration. I’ll be honest with you. We’re looking at property. It’s a business. It’s how we make our city work.” McShan has family from Littig herself – Ms. Gonzalez says she knows the mayor’s father.
Based on the Environmental Site Assessment conducted by Ward, Getz & Associates, the proposed site is not within FEMA’s 100-year floodplain. However, Gena Gonzalez argues, “Give us a week of rain, and we cannot leave.” She recalls a time in 2016 or 2017 when she had to “swim to the road” because the rain was so rough. It similarly flooded there in 2022.
The assessment found no historical or recognized environmental concerns on the property. The hydrology report reveals that the type of soil makes for low risk of groundwater contamination, yet high risk of runoff.
The cost of living next to a WWTP is not typically detailed in a Phase 1 ESA, but the National Institute of Health linked proximity to a WWTP (within 500 meters) with significant risk for headaches, loss of concentration, and gastrointestinal distress. These symptoms arise from inhalation of pathogenic microorganisms and chemicals.
WWTPs also emit ozone and hazardous organic compounds that can cause shortness of breath and serious lung issues, according to the NIH. A 2025 study conducted by the National Library of Medicine detected 13 carcinogenic compounds in the vicinity of a WWTP.
Eventually, the effluent from the plant will flow from the Dry Creek bed into Wilbarger Creek. The latter has 11 existing discharge permits and nine pending applications, according to the Wilbarger Creek Conservation Alliance. Jon Beall, who owns land near Littig, explains that development in Austin was pushed to the east side of I-35 in the Eighties and Nineties.
Rancher Anne Brockenbrough, who co-founded the WCCA alongside Beall, said, “We can find a better location for this plant that is not right next to the historic town of Littig. There is plenty of open ranch land further east.”
The WCCA, a nonprofit operating out of eastern Travis County, actively seeks to protect wildlife, the environment, and Littig. The nonprofit hopes the 38 acres previously belonging to Jackson Morrow will be preserved as a park or designated green space for Littig.
Shelby Koebley, programs manager for WCCA, added, “It’s a story of David and Goliath. The Elgin mayor and the Elgin City Council have all the power, and the citizens of Littig do not even have a vote.”
Gena Gonzalez and her siblings will not stop fighting for their ancestors’ land. “The land is a documented part of Littig since the 1800s and one of the last physical links to its founding families’ history,” Gonzalez stated. Currently, they are in the process of setting up a public meeting with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The siblings, along with the Littig community and WCCA, plan to continue the fight at the March 3 Elgin City Council meeting.
This article appears in February 27 • 2026.