Barton Springs advocates celebrate the S.O.S. victory at La Zona Rosa, one of the many local businesses supportive of the Save Our Springs movement.
Courtesy Alan Pogue
August 1992
Austin citizens assert their green identity, endorsing the strictest water quality ordinance ever by a 2-to-1 margin. Voters also approve bonds to buy a Barton Creek Wilderness Park and land to protect endangered species.
The SOS Ordinance limits development on land, requires that runoff after development does not increase existing pollution levels, and calls for buffers of undeveloped land near sensitive ecological features.
Read the SOS ordinance in full here.
I believe that this is...the strongest water quality ordinance in the nation ever passed by citizen initiative. it was initiated by the community. It was validated to get on the ballot by the community, and then it was voted on, and approved by the community.
— Bridgid Shea, City Councilmember 1992
