As Austin adjusts to the reality of major flooding on a regular basis, City Council is working to create a more comprehensive set of policies to respond to the damage caused by heavy rainstorms. Last year, Council created a Flood Mitigation Task Force to take a deeper look into how to protect Austinites from the […]
Watershed Protection Department
The city’s Watershed Protection Department works to reduce the impact of floods, erosion and water pollution in the city. The department is mostly funded by the city’s drainage fee.
Posted inDevelopment
Broadstone 620 development limited by environmental risks
There are some limits to Austin’s breakneck expansion, and the developers of Broadstone 620 may have stumbled into them on Nov. 16. Austin’s Environmental Commission voted 7-2 not to recommend building a new wastewater system for the development because it would intensify development in an environmentally sensitive area. Commissioners Hank Smith and Richard Grayum were […]
Posted inBudget
Environmental Commission recommends funds for river watchers
The health of Austin’s rivers is carefully monitored on a regular basis by a team of experts. But some of those experts are much younger than many people may realize. Austin Youth River Watch has been training at-risk high school students to check the levels of pollutants in the city’s natural waterways since 1992. The […]
Posted inResources
Austinites to receive incentive for storing rainwater
Property owners who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to store rainwater will start to receive a discount on their drainage fees next year. The Watershed Protection Department has proposed the change in an attempt to create an equitable system for assessing the monthly drainage fees paid by property owners. The new system, […]
Posted inTransportation
Parks and Rec Board questions repairs that could add to downtown gridlock
A routine park repair has triggered pent-up frustration over Austin’s infamously congested downtown traffic. At its meeting on July 26, members of the Parks and Recreation Board recommended a repair project that will force the closure of one lane of Cesar Chavez Street from West Avenue to San Antonio Street for the month of August. […]
Posted inWater
Commission OKs drainage discount for rain barrels
The city’s Environmental Commission endorsed a proposed ordinance last week that will give property owners the chance to lower their drainage fees if they make efforts to reduce runoff from their properties. Austin Water utility already provides a one-time rebate to homeowners who buy rain barrels and rain gardens, but the Watershed Protection Department decided […]
Posted inEnvironment
Flooding discussions continue at Open Space Committee
With the promise of rain, Upper Onion Creek resident Ken Jacob says his neighbors can be found with their eyes to the creek and the internet — where rain gauge levels are updated. So it’s essential to someone like Jacob, who serves on the city’s Flood Mitigation Task Force, that the city continue to discuss […]
Posted inCity Hall
Updated: Task force report on Austin flooding prioritizes ‘life, safety and property’
Update: After our story was originally published, we heard from several members of Flood Mitigation Task Force, who disputed the assertions made by some task force members, including the group’s chairman, who said the final report lacked prioritization. An executive summary of the report, not available at Monday’s meeting of the Council’s Public Utilities committee, […]
Posted inAustin
More funds needed to finish Waller project
City Council will be considering seven items on Thursday’s agenda with a combined financial impact of $7.5 million for completing the Waller Creek Project, which has been fraught with difficulties since the discovery that the intake tunnel had been designed and built in a way that obscured a view of the Capitol. During Tuesday’s work session, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Staff seeking OK to fix Eliza Spring
Members of the city’s Watershed Protection and Parks and Recreation departments have been planning improvements for Eliza Spring in Zilker Park since at least 2012. The spring, which is home to the largest concentration of the endangered Barton Springs salamander as well as to Austin blind salamanders, is recognizable to visitors because of the historic […]
Posted inWater
Austin asks TCEQ to change wastewater rules
On Tuesday, the city of Austin formally asked the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for help in correcting an uptick in permits that allow direct discharge of effluent into the region’s lakes, creeks and streams. In Texas, treated wastewater can be discarded either through direct discharge into creeks or lakes, or through land application, as […]
Posted inAustin
Committee recommends more home buyouts in floodplain
Property values are rising in Austin, even in areas at high risk of flooding. It’s a challenge that the Watershed Protection Department faces as it seeks to buy properties in the Middle Williamson Creek area threatened by flooding, city staff told the Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee on Thursday. Mapi Vigil, managing engineer for […]