Bill McCann

Workers last week began laying the first section of a 13-mile water line for an ambitious Austin Water Utility program to expand water and wastewater service to a rapidly growing area on the city’s southeastern edge. The water line eventually will zigzag from Interstate 35 to Pilot Knob as a key part of the utility’s […]

City staff got the go-ahead Thursday to install what will be by far Austin’s biggest rooftop solar electric project to date.   It also will be the first time the city will use a technology in which strips of solar cells, laminated in a durable, flexible polymer material less than a quarter of an inch […]

Plans to install a sewer line in and along a creek bed for a proposed mixed-use development in Austin’s northeast extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) got a thumbs-down from the Environmental Board last week.   The board recommended denying a variance for the developers of the Village at Northtown to put the sewer line in the floodplain […]

The nearly 500 people who showed up at the Palmer Events Center to hear last night’s debate on the pros and cons of Water Treatment Plant 4 got a little education, a little entertainment and a touch of political theater.   The City Council sponsored the event to help members sort out the facts about […]

Supporters and opponents of Water Treatment Plant 4 are preparing to square off tomorrow (Sept. 17) in what is believed to be the first-of-a-kind debate, with the goal to help Austin City Council members decide when and whether the plant should be built. Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez and Council Member Sheryl […]

Rains this past week, as expected, have not only brought welcome relief to the landscape but dramatic reductions in water use by Austin Water Utility customers. However, the utility has no plans at this time to lift the Stage 2 water-use restrictions that were imposed in August as a result of dropping lake levels. “The […]

A new study commissioned by Austin Energy shows that if solar electric panels were installed on all viable rooftop space in the area, the panels could supply 84 percent of the utility’s existing generating capacity and almost 28 percent of the power produced yearly to meet customer needs. Time of day and season determine the […]

Led by an environmental activist and a dentist, opponents of treating Austin’s drinking water with fluoride to fight tooth decay got a boost from the Environmental Board last week. Sometimes considered a fringe group, fluoride opponents have appeared before the City Council and city advisory groups numerous times. Typically, they have been met with silence […]

Concerned about the quality of Bull Creek and the health of the people who use it, city staff has concluded that waste from dogs running free at the park is the likely cause of high bacteria levels frequently found in the creek. Staff has proposed a list of actions to deal with the poop problem […]

The prolonged drought is a serious threat to the endangered Barton Springs Salamander, according to a city staff expert.   “I’m very concerned, but cautiously optimistic that it will rain,” Laurie Dries, biologist at the Watershed Protection Department, told In Fact Daily.   The latest salamander count on Aug. 13 found only 35 salamanders at […]

As Austin Energy proposes to ramp up its already-ambitious renewable energy goals, it has sealed the deal on a major solar electric project that was approved by the City Council in March.   Last Friday, Austin Energy signed a contract with San Francisco-based Gemini Solar Development Co. for a 30-megawatt solar power plant on city-owned […]

In a much-anticipated new electric-generation plan being unveiled this week, Austin Energy will propose putting even more emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable energy and less on coal to meet the city’s future electric power needs.   As a result, city energy officials believe Austin will further solidify its position nationally as a leader in energy […]