It has been over a year since the water bill saga first made headlines in Austin. However, only now are city utilities releasing a post-mortem report designed to help them avoid a similar situation in the future. While the report that Monica Joyner, an Austin Energy process manager for quality, presented at the Nov. 19 […]
Austin Water Utility
AWU is the municipal utility that provides water service for the City of Austin.
Posted inWater
Council approves 100-year water conservation road map
On Thursday, City Council unanimously adopted a plan to guide Austin’s water use for the next century. “This is a tremendous moment for Austin,” said David Foster, director of Texas Clean Water Action. “If we pass this plan, Austin will become the only major city to meet its water demand in the future without taking […]
Posted inWater
To conserve water amid warming climate, city envisions major underground storage system
For four years, volunteer members of the Integrated Water Resource Task Force have been crafting a plan to conserve Austin’s water supply over the next century. While experts have long warned that a warming climate, coupled with a growing population, poses a serious risk to the world’s water supply, the weeklong boil notice that Austin […]
Posted inCity Council
Council seems ready to OK biosolids contract
The latest chapter in the city’s quest to sign a new contract for handling biosolids at the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant appears to be nearing its end after two and half years of struggle. With Council Member Alison Alter leading the charge at Tuesday’s work session, Council appeared ready to finally approve a new […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council plans additional post-mortem review of water crisis
Although last week’s crisis has passed and Austinites once again have clean drinking water in their homes and offices, City Council still has much work to do. In anticipation of the questions that would arrive in the aftermath of the boil water notice, last Thursday, Council Member Ellen Troxclair drafted a resolution requesting a review […]
Posted inWater
Boil water order may be lifted Sunday
Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said Thursday he expects a boil water notice for water utility customers to remain in effect until Sunday evening. In the meantime, the utility is working to satisfy all of its internal requirements as well as Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regulations. Although the city issued the boil water notice […]
Posted inWater
Boil water rule could end this weekend
Although a Travis County emergency management official told commissioners Tuesday morning that the current boil water advisory for Austin Water customers could continue for 10 to 14 days, city officials said Tuesday afternoon that such a scenario was unlikely. Mayor Steve Adler told a news conference gathering at City Hall that the boil water notice […]
Posted inWater
Water and Wastewater Commission holds off on billing recommendation
Over a year after the water billing saga surfaced in the news, Austin Water and Austin Energy are still working to adjust internal processes in order to proactively prevent a similar situation from reoccurring. In their effort to do so, several months after the misreads were identified, Austin Water and Austin Energy formed a working […]
Posted inEnvironment
Zebra mussels found in Austin Water intake pipes
Divers have found large amounts of invasive zebra mussels at intake pipes that feed Austin’s water supply, opening up a costly new challenge for the city’s water utility. Austin Water had seen evidence of the small, rectangular mussels in water samples and around intake pipes earlier this summer, but that was nothing compared to what […]
Posted inEnvironment
After 20 years the city protects 25 percent of the Barton Springs recharge zone
Since 1998, the city of Austin has been working diligently to preserve and care for the crown jewel of our city: Barton Springs. Doing so involves a lot more than draining and cleaning the pool every so often. According to Sherri Kuhl, the environmental conservation division manager at Austin Water, it in large part involves […]
Posted inWater
Austin Water lays the path forward for the next 100 years of water conservation
There’s no denying it: The climate as we know it is changing, but access to water sources is not. Three years ago the second iteration of the Water Forward Task Force convened in an effort to draft a 100-year water supply plan and shift the way the city thinks about its water resources. The task […]
Posted inCity Hall
Despite water bill debacle, Austin’s utility customer service rating remains unharmed
The wounds that last fall’s water bill catastrophe left behind had the potential to open up once again as Austin Energy reviewed its customer service ratings and presented the findings at the July 16 meeting of the Electric Utility Commission. “Didn’t we have a huge spike after the water problem that’s not reflected here?” inquired Commissioner […]