Southeast Austin’s Roy G. Guerrero Park is home to a disc-golf course and baseball fields and is a popular destination for birding. But according to the city, a growing threat poses a risk to the popular park: erosion. The 360-acre park is home to two separate creeks: Country Club West and Country Club East. The two […]
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 inPlanning
In Earth Day win, Environmental Commission sides with salamanders over developer
At its April 21 meeting, the Environmental Commission fielded discussion over a wastewater service extension request (SER) from a prospective developer of a property located at FM 620 and Anderson Mill Road. Kaela Champlin, an environmental program coordinator with the Watershed Protection Department, presented the case to commissioners, ultimately recommending the commission nix the request […]
Posted inEnvironment
Environmentalists, city say sewage will harm Barton Creek
Houston developer Stephen Cleveland has requested a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to dump partially treated sewage into Long Branch, a tributary of Barton Creek. Although TCEQ has issued a draft permit, environmental organizations and the city of Austin have objected, saying the discharge will diminish the quality of the creek, which […]
Posted inTransportation
Guerrero Park bridge delayed again
The long-awaited Guerrero Park bridge is now expected to be finished in 2024, according to the Watershed Protection Department. Watershed anticipates construction to begin next year and to take two years to complete, according to project engineer Janna Renfro. The originally proposed completion date was 2018. The bridge, which crosses Country Club Creek West in […]
Posted inEnvironment
With winter coming, city works on treatment for toxic blue-green algae
The Water Oversight Committee met the last week of October to hear an update on the toxic algae that resulted in the deaths of at least five dogs in Austin last year. Brent Bellinger, a research ecologist with the Watershed Protection Department, informed the committee about the harmful algae in Lady Bird Lake and how […]
Posted inEnvironment
Watershed Protection Department seeks to fill gaps in city regulation for creekside health
The Watershed Protection Department recently discovered two pieces of regulation missing from Austin’s land use code that could aid and restore the health of the city’s many creeks. Ana Gonzalez, a senior environmental scientist with the department, presented the issue at the Oct. 7 meeting of the Environmental Commission. She explained that the banks of a […]
Posted inDevelopment
Springdale Farm project earns variance from Planning Commission
At its Tuesday meeting, the Planning Commission passed an environmental variance for 755 Springdale Road. The applicant, StoryBuilt, has sought the change for more than a year, but the case failed to clear the Environmental Commission earlier this summer due to concerns about building in a critical water quality zone. StoryBuilt is hoping to construct a mixed-use […]
Posted inWater
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 […]
Posted inEnvironment
City departments propose centralized trash cleanup effort to keep creeks clean
The city has taken a first look at trash in creeks and identified illegal dumping, littering, large public events and homeless encampments as the four primary sources of trash ending up in city waterways. In a cross-departmental background report posted last week, the city found commercial locations and illegal dumping to be the most consistent […]
Posted inBudget
Environmental Commission recommends Watershed Protection Department budget
Among the coronavirus pandemic’s many consequences is an impact on the Watershed Protection Department’s proposed budget for the 2021 fiscal year. Even with the decision to cut back in areas, the department is still proposing a $107.1 million operating budget for 2021, with $101.2 million in expected revenue. “Based on what we’ve seen in our […]
Posted inThe Code
Environmental Commission says Public Works project ‘flies in the face’ of environmental regulations
In order to create easy access and support increased traffic headed to a new Habitat for Humanity development in Southeast Austin, the Public Works Department is working on constructing a road that crosses a “classified waterway.” Under city code, a classified waterway is a body of water identified in the Watershed Protection Ordinance that has […]
Posted inEnvironment
Watershed Protection Department debuts new pollution spills map
When the Watershed Protection Department went to renew the city’s permit to discharge under the Texas pollutant discharge elimination system this past year, it found new requirements. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently changed its rules to require cities to keep a list of priority areas – hot spots that are high-potential areas for […]