 "Photo: Matt Norris")
Several Austin-area construction and architect contractors have joined the boycott against Lowe's corporation, which is currently constructing two large stores in the Austin area.
Representatives of Save Our Springs, which began an anti-Lowe's petition in January, made the announcement on Sunday evening outside Barton Springs Pool.
They have gathered 5,000 signatures from individuals, but construction contractors began joining the boycott about two weeks ago, said Brad Rockwell, SOS's deputy director.
"We're trying to get Lowe's to stop polluting the aquifer," Rockwell said. Two stores currently under construction over the Edwards Aquifer will pollute Barton Springs Pool, he said. Water from the pool flows into Town Lake, Austin's source of drinking water.
"This is the way we all can vote - with our dollars," said Robert James, president of Inhabitation, Inc., an Austin builder.
James estimated he spends about $50,000 annually on materials he might otherwise purchase from Lowe's but now plans to take his business elsewhere.
Signatories to the petition "pledge to not shop at any Lowe's store," and "to actively discourage friends, associates, neighbors and co-workers from shopping at Lowe's," if the company moves forward with construction of the stores, which are on Brodie Lane and on Bee Caves Road.
Construction at the site on Brodie Lane was halted by a court injunction, because plans for the Lowe's exceeded Austin's limit on impervious ground cover, such as parking lots and buildings.
The construction proposal calls for 40 percent of the site to be paved, while the Austin limit in that area is 15 percent, Rockwell said. Such pavement would increase pollutant runoff at the site, he said.
The construction site on Bee Caves Road is in the jurisdiction of Bee Caves Village environmental law, not Austin's, so it does not have to comply with the same standards.
Robert Zirkel, owner of Shelter Design and Construction, estimated he was withdrawing between $10,000 to $15,000 of annual business from Lowe's.
"I'm not happy about having to participate in a boycott of Lowe's," Zirkel said, "I think it is absolutely necessary to get their attention."
Lowe's corporation, based in Charleston, N.C., currently operates five stores in Austin and 875 worldwide. The company brings in about $26.5 billion in annual revenue.
Spokespeople for Lowe's Corporation were unavailable for comment Sunday. A spokesperson for Home Depot, a major competitor of Lowe's, refused to comment.
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