Some of the players on the western Travis Co. frontier include:

Lower Colorado River Authority: A quasi-governmental water and power supply agency, whose board of directors is appointed by the governor

Regional Water Quality Planning Project: A core committee of multijurisdictional representatives charged with crafting a plan to protect sensitive watershed areas of western Travis and northwestern Hays counties

The Hamilton Pool Road Alliance: Rebecca Hudson leads this trio of landowners who plan to turn three tracts into a 1,300-home subdivision — provided it can obtain water services from the LCRA.

The Hamilton Pool Road Scenic Corridor Coalition: A group of landowners who campaigned on the “Slow Down” theme in seeking a delay on the proposed LCRA water pipeline extension to a new development in the area

Save Our Springs Alliance: This cage-rattling environmental group’s support base is spreading further and further west of Austin, wherever developments threaten to upset the fragile ecological balance.

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Amy Smith has been writing about Austin policy and politics for over 20 years. She joined The Austin Chronicle in 1996.