The dramatic rise in water levels in the reservoirs that supply Austin is allowing the city to loosen drought-related watering restrictions that have been in effect for about two years. Under the new system, which kicks in Sept. 2, Austin will go from Stage 2 drought restrictions to the baseline rules the city calls “conservation stage.” Despite […]
Mose Buchele, KUT
Posted inResources
Austin wants to create a central hub for trash before it goes to landfills
Austin Resource Recovery has released new details on plans to build a central hub where city garbage and composting trucks transfer their loads to bigger trucks before the waste is hauled to out-of-town disposal sites. Department officials said the hub, also called a transfer station, would help improve city services and reduce emissions from disposal […]
Posted inEnergy
Texas promised to winterize its energy grid. An audit found big problems.
State oil and gas inspectors are not adequately verifying that Texas natural gas production and delivery systems are prepared to keep running in severe winter storms. Regulators have also failed to hold natural gas operators to winter weatherization standards, according to a new report from the State Auditor’s Office. The state mandate requiring natural gas production and […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin will lose $32 million for solar power projects after federal funding cuts
Austin Energy stands to lose $32 million for solar power projects for low-income people. The loss comes after the Trump administration announced plans to cancel a Biden era clean energy program called “Solar for All.” According to the utility, the funds would have helped 2,500 residential low-income homes and 25 multifamily buildings and community centers […]
Posted inWater
Austin is losing even more water to leaky city pipes than previously thought
Austin’s leaky pipe problem keeps getting worse. In recent years, the city’s water utility has recorded losses of about 7 billion gallons annually due to leaks in its treatment and distribution system. That’s about enough water to fill Lady Bird Lake three times over every year. Now, an annual review shows the problem could be […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin gas rates are up and they’re set to go higher. Here’s why.
Between recording sessions in KUTX’s music studio a while back, sound engineer Jake Perlman brought up something decidedly un-rock-and-roll: his gas bill. The first few months of the year, Perlman said, he paid about double what he had paid during the same months the previous year — despite using less gas at times. “I could […]
Posted inEnvironment
Rite of spring: Dog-killing algae makes an early appearance in Austin waterways
Scientists with Austin’s Watershed Protection Department have spotted clumps of blue-green algae near Red Bud Isle on Lady Bird Lake. This year marks one of the earliest seasonal reports of the algae, also known as cyanobacteria, which can be toxic to animals and humans. Since it was first detected in the region in 2019, cyanobacteria […]
Posted inWater
Lady Bird Lake’s water levels dropped (again), raising questions about dam’s integrity
If you went out for a walk along Lady Bird Lake on Tuesday afternoon you might have noticed the water level was lower than usual. Muddy stretches of bank extended farther toward the center of the lake. The smell wasn’t great. Lady Bird Lake’s water level fell by about 2 feet. The Longhorn Dam holds […]
Posted inEnergy
City Council passes new energy plan through 2035. Here’s what it does.
After nearly two years of study, revision, public outreach and intense debate, the city of Austin finally has a new plan for how it will meet its energy needs over the next 10 years. Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2035 serves as a road map, not just for how the city’s […]
Posted inWater
A malfunction at Longhorn Dam that caused Lady Bird Lake to lose water has been fixed
If you happened to be near Austin’s Lady Bird Lake on Monday, you might have noticed it looked different. The lake level, which usually stays constant year-round, had dropped by about 2 feet, exposing stretches of muddy, sometimes smelly, shoreline. The cause was a problem at Longhorn Dam on Sunday night. “We experienced a control […]
Posted inWater
Austin said a report on water utility leaks would be final months ago. It’s still not public.
Austin has a leaky pipe problem. The city’s water utility estimates it loses about 21 gallons of water per resident per day from leaks and breaks in the system. Last year that added up to over 7 billion gallons of treated water lost – more than enough to fill Lady Bird Lake three times over. To […]
Posted inEnvironment
Smog got you down? Here’s why air quality in Austin has been so bad this spring.
This spring has been a challenging one in Central Texas weather-wise. There was punishing heat, destructive hail and a thick yellow-gray haze that blanketed the region. But, of these three apocalyptic-feeling weather phenomena, the smog stands out as particularly unique. It’s been worse this year than many can remember. Why? The answer starts with seasonal agricultural fires in […]