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 […]
Environment
Posted inParks
After leak repairs, Barton Springs reopens weeks earlier than expected
In a piece of good news – especially as recent sweltering temperatures have confirmed that summer doesn’t end till late September – Barton Springs is set to reopen today, on a Thursday, no less. During weekly pool maintenance Aug. 29, Parks and Recreation Department staff discovered leaks – caused by a hole that had grown […]
Posted inParks
Barton Springs closed for weeks due to major leaks
Austinites looking forward to an end-of-summer celebratory Barton Springs dip this Labor Day weekend were disappointed, thanks to a safety hazard caused by two major leaks that has led to a weekslong indefinite closure of the pool. The pool has been out of commission since Aug. 29, when the city’s Parks and Recreation Department announced […]
Posted inParks
Hays Commons development’s parkland proposal wins support from Parks Board
The Parks and Recreation Board has given a proposed development its unanimous support based on the amount of parkland the builder has promised to provide on a nearly 500-acre site straddling Travis and Hays counties. The development, Hays Commons, is currently seeking to create a municipal utility district (MUD) through the Texas Commission on Environmental […]
Posted inParks
Parks board asks City Council to review why boating concession ordinance exempted community input
The Parks and Recreation Board wants City Council to reexamine, and possibly rescind, a 2019 ordinance allowing an adventure excursion company to operate a boating concession in East Austin without going through a public process. The company, called the Expedition School, is poised to begin building out its concession operations along Lady Bird Lake’s north […]
Posted inEnergy
Critics still say hydrogen gas plant would be a dealbreaker in Austin Energy Resource Generation Plan
As Austin Energy continues to iron out the details of its Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan, environmentalists are keeping the pressure on, demanding the utility abandon its proposal to build a new hydrogen-capable combined cycle power plant. Austin Energy says the plant, which would run on natural gas before transitioning to a cleaner hydrogen […]
Posted inResources
Texas Gas Service rate hearing at Council this Thursday
City Council will host a hearing on Thursday to allow members of the public, particularly customers of Texas Gas Service, to voice their opinions about a large rate increase the utility is proposing. The city has also joined a coalition of cities seeking to convince the Texas Railroad Commission, which makes the final decision about […]
Posted inParks
Camp Mabry as a park? Author Lawrence Wright proposes new use for military base
Renowned author and journalist Lawrence Wright has unveiled a vision to turn the Camp Mabry military base in Austin into an urban state park with natural attractions and some development to complement the city’s other major parks spaces. Wright, an Austin resident who has won a Pulitzer Prize in addition to many other national awards, […]
Posted inWater
Austin exploring new ways to look at water quality
A discussion at the most recent meeting of the Environmental Commission revealed that the city is in the process of creating a new way to explain and track how policy decisions impact water quality in Austin. Since 1994, the Watershed Protection Department has used the environmental integrity index, or EII, which scores quality across 50 […]
Posted inWater
Commission drills down on what disannexation could mean for area water quality
Though the city’s current water quality monitoring system has been in place for an impressive 30 years, changes at the state Legislature mean a change at the city level as well. Andrew Clamann, who works for the Watershed Protection Department in the environmental monitoring and compliance division, spoke about his program to the city’s Environmental […]
Posted inEnvironment
City seeking answers from suppliers in move toward low-carbon concrete, landscaping
A handful of city departments are in the research and market studying phase for two environmental initiatives passed by City Council earlier this year, which could lead to substantial changes in how construction projects are planned and budgeted. A memo released last week from chief sustainability officer Zach Baumer provides an update to Council’s direction […]
Posted inWater
For future water conservation, reuse may be key
Though July’s rain may have eased some fears over the continuing drought, Austin Water is still playing the long game, with plans to prepare for a drier future. Water Resources Supervisor Marisa Flores Gonzalez joined the city’s Water and Wastewater Commission last month to discuss a new indirect potable reuse project, designed to stretch Austin’s […]