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- Latest State of Downtown report shows the city core’s businesses and housing are in transition
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- Watson is ahead in election for Austin mayor, but it’s unclear if he’ll avoid a runoff
- Nearly 52% of registered voters in Travis County cast an early ballot
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- Meet Austin’s new park director finalists
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Water
Tesla urged to use water-saving measures
As Tesla speeds ahead with converting an old sand and gravel mining site in eastern Travis County into a manufacturing facility for its Cybertruck and Model Y SUV, City Council members have begun asking questions about how much water the…
Water • By Jo Clifton • Aug 21, 2020
Austin Water aims to bring new conservation ordinances before Council in December
Timelines across the city have been adjusted or paused following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the ongoing limitations imposed by the “new normal” have not stopped Austin Water from developing new conservation ordinances to bring before City Council…
Water • By Jessi Devenyns • Aug 18, 2020
Dog owners take note: Toxic algae early warning system is in the works
The heat of summer is here and that means toxic blue-green algae may return to Austin lakes and creeks. Last year, at least five dogs died after swimming in parts of Lady Bird Lake containing the algae. This year, the…
Water • By Mose Buchele, KUT • Jul 13, 2020
With businesses shut, Austin Water's revenues fall
Austin Water, which contributed an extra $5 million to the city’s utility customer assistance program and cut rates by 10 percent in an effort to help those affected by the coronavirus, has itself felt the impact of business closures on…
Water • By Jo Clifton • May 14, 2020
Austin Water reports happier customers and over-budget expenses for first quarter
In a mixed start to the year, Austin Water reported expenses that were 14 percent above budget for the quarter and revenues that were 6.2 percent higher than projections. “We were above our (revenue) budget by $8.79 million,” Christina Romero,…
Water • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 30, 2020
Digital meter reading coming to Austin Water
Austin Water is preparing to roll out digital water meters that will allow the utility, as well as individual customers, to see how much water each customer is using every hour. Ultimately, every single one of the utility’s 240,000 meters…
Water • By Jo Clifton • Mar 6, 2020
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Water and Wastewater Commission learns cause of foamy water
On Jan. 22, residents in South Austin reported foamy water in their taps following the Austin Fire Department’s extinguishing of a church fire. At the Feb. 12 meeting of the Water and Wastewater Commission, Rick Coronado, the assistant director of…
Water • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 19, 2020
Austin to spend up to $4 million to tackle zebra mussel problem
Austin City Council has approved spending up to $4 million over the next five years on a liquid compound to remove zebra mussels from water intake systems. Zebra mussels are small invasive mollusks that can clog the pipes that pull…
Water • By Marisa Charpentier, KUT • Jan 27, 2020
Travis County takes action to eliminate 'water colonias'
While it’s accurately referred to as an urban county, roughly half of Travis County does not fall within the limits of any municipality. The population in these rural, unincorporated areas is growing rapidly, driven in part by a lack of…
Travis County • By Jack Craver • Jan 13, 2020
Conservation district denies rehearing request on Needmore well permit
The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District denied a request at its Dec. 12 meeting from the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association for a rehearing of the Needmore Water LLC permit. In July, the district’s board of directors granted the Needmore…
Water • By Ryan Thornton • Dec 19, 2019
Over 60 roadway improvements require relocation of water and wastewater lines
At the Dec. 11 meeting of the Water and Wastewater Commission, Austin Water presented an update on the 65 active transportation improvement projects that necessitate the repositioning of water utility lines. Of those projects, 56 percent are in the planning…
Water • By Katherine Corley • Dec 16, 2019
Fighting zebra mussels to be costly
Zebra mussels, the tiny mollusks that have infested lakes from the Great Lakes to Lake Travis, have now proliferated in Lake Austin. “They’re on the docks and on the piers in the millions, maybe the billions,” according to Greg Meszaros,…
