The Environmental Commission received an update Wednesday on the impacts of a proposed wastewater treatment plant southwest of Austin. Abel Porras, the supervising engineer in the Environmental Resource Management Division of the city’s Watershed Protection Department, described the water quality impacts from proposed wastewater discharge into Barton Creek. The Sawyer-Cleveland Partnership has applied to the […]
Water
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City could store three Lake Austins’ worth of water underground by 2040
Austin gets all of its water from the Highland Lakes, but that might not always be the case. The city recently took a first step toward storing massive amounts of water underground. If the plan works, it could help Austin survive as the climate crisis threatens traditional water supplies. With this technique, called aquifer storage […]
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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 plant might use and whether Tesla owner Elon Musk would be willing to take steps […]
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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 in December. The city water utility plans to bring at least two ordinances before Council […]
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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 city is developing an early warning system to let people know when conditions are ripe […]
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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 its bottom line. David Anders, assistant director for finance and business services, told the Austin […]
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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, Austin Water’s financial manager, told the Water and Wastewater Commission on March 11. Below-average rainfall […]
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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 will be replaced by a new meter that can broadcast a digital signal, according to […]
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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 Austin Water, told commissioners that the foam was a benign substance. “Essentially it’s a soap […]
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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 from reservoirs. Austin gets its water from Lake Austin and Lake Travis, which are […]
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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 affordable housing in urban areas, particularly within the city of Austin. In some cases, groups […]
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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 permit to pump over 289 million gallons per year from the Trinity Aquifer. At the […]