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Water
Council slated to approve updates to Water Forward Plan and to Austin Water’s Conservation and Drought Contingency plans
This month, City Council will vote on proposed updates to Austin’s Water Forward Plan and to the related Water Conservation and Drought Contingency plans. During a briefing on Oct. 22, Austin Water Director Shay Ralls Roalson presented an overview of…
Water • By Mina Shekarchi • Nov 5, 2024
Council nearly doubles payment to build water system for disannexed project
City Council has agreed to more than double its contribution toward a water infrastructure project that will service a project that recently disannexed from the western city limits. The unanimous approval of an amendment to the cost participation agreement between…
Water • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 14, 2024
Austin is way ahead of the curve on federal effort to replace lead pipes
On the same day the Biden administration set a 10-year deadline for U.S. cities to remove all lead pipes, Austin announced that the city is officially 100 percent free of lead contamination in its public water system. “I am proud of…
Water • By Lina Fisher • Oct 11, 2024
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.…
Water • By Mose Buchele, KUT • Oct 9, 2024
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Report looks at Austin Water leaks, losses that could fill 12,000 Olympic pools
Leaks and inefficiencies throughout the local water system cause Austin Water to lose more than 8 billion gallons per year – enough to fill 12,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The loss totals were some of the findings from a recent outside…
Water • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 8, 2024
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 • By Mose Buchele, KUT • Sep 19, 2024
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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…
Water • By Elizabeth Pagano • Aug 16, 2024
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…
Water • By Elizabeth Pagano • Aug 13, 2024
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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…
Water • By Kali Bramble • Aug 5, 2024
Austin Water tees up to propose rate increases to Council
Austinites can prepare to add their water bill to the list of services getting increasingly more expensive, as a proposal for hikes in utility rates makes its way through City Council’s pipeline. The proposal, which Austin Water unveiled early last…
Water • By Kali Bramble • Jul 8, 2024
Austin Water aims to transform landscape requirements for new homes
Austin Water is planning a landscape transformation initiative for new single-family homes as part of the city’s long-range water conservation strategies, according to a progress report Wednesday to the Water and Wastewater Commission. Kevin Critendon, Austin Water’s assistant director over…
Environment • By Amy Smith • Jun 14, 2024
Leaking city pipes appear to be drought-proofing some Austin trees
Austin loses an estimated 21 gallons of water per person every day, mostly through leaks in the city’s water distribution system. Last year that totaled 8.6 billion gallons lost. Those leaks waste more than water; they drain energy and cost…
Water • By Mose Buchele, KUT • May 28, 2024
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