Austin is home to a complex of underground aquifers that we know are filled by a system of underground caves. However, if we know that to be the case, why we don’t see caves everywhere? “Basically, because all of them were filled, historically, on ranch land,” Nico Hauwert, Balcones Canyonland Preserve program manager, explained to […]
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 inParks
Section of Shoal Creek Hike and Bike Trail suffers massive storm damage
Jessica Zarowitz was in for a surprise while walking her dog, Lady Bird, along the Shoal Creek Hike and Bike Trail on Monday: The trail that had been there for years suddenly wasn’t. Trees had fallen over it, and the pavement had buckled and slid into the creek in places. “Maybe this is the universe […]
Posted inEnvironment
Austin’s 100-year flood plain looks more like today’s 500-year flood plain
In Austin, flooding has been a concern for decades, but in the last several years, the urgency with which the city is conducting the conversation has escalated. In the last four years alone, Austin has experienced four federally declared flooding disasters, and the rain doesn’t seem to be letting up according to a new study […]
Posted inLand Development Code
CodeNEXT Draft 3 makes significant changes to water-quality and drainage regulations
After months of waiting, last month the third and final staff draft of CodeNEXT was released. After allowing adequate reading time, on Feb. 21, Matt Hollon, the manager of the Watershed Protection Department Planning Division, gave the Environmental Commission an overview of the relevant changes between drafts two and three. “Spoiler alert, there are almost […]
Posted inCity Council
Another postponement for Champion case
City Council decided Thursday that a legal and political battle surrounding the Champion tract in Northwest Austin that has spanned two decades will be extended yet another two weeks. Council voted 7-4 to postpone action on an amendment to a settlement agreement from over 20 years ago that would allow a developer to build a […]
Posted inEnvironment
Environmental Commission recommends Watershed Department issue a middle-of-the-road bond in 2018
The beginning of 2018 marked the beginning of a bond election year. At the latest meeting of the Environmental Commission, the Watershed Protection Department presented plans to ask the public for help conserving Austin’s environment through the acquisition of green space and the reparation and prevention of damage done by flooding and drainage. After hearing […]
Posted inLand Development Code
CodeNEXT: City says few environmental surprises in store
Conversations today about the city run like clockwork: You can guarantee that at some point CodeNEXT will be mentioned. However, although it is spoken about with regularity, there are so many varying opinions, stances and regulatory improvements being presented that it becomes difficult to track, let alone understand, the changes that are being made in […]
Posted inAustin
Environmental Commission moves Onion Creek buyout plan forward
Over four years after the 2013 Halloween floods racked the Onion Creek neighborhoods, the Environmental Commission voted unanimously at its Dec. 6 meeting to approve staff’s recommendation to move forward with 128 buyouts of houses at immediate risk of flooding come the next downpour. The Watershed Protection Department’s recommendation is a culmination of multiple years […]
Posted inEnvironment
Two districts now oppose sewage permit
The board of directors of the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District voted Monday night to protest Dripping Springs’ draft permit to discharge 995,000 gallons of wastewater per day into a tributary of Onion Creek. The vote means that the district will request that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality hold a contested case hearing and […]
Posted inAISD
AISD seeks environmental flexibility in redevelopment of Barton Springs schools
The Austin Independent School District is one step closer to reaching an agreement with the city that would allow it to redevelop some of its overcrowded campuses in order to accommodate growth in student populations. At its meeting last Wednesday, the Environmental Commission voted unanimously to approve staff’s recommendation to permit the district to reorganize […]
Posted inWater
In a gesture of goodwill, the city wants to reward those who are reusing their stormwater
Most Austin residents are aware of the sometimes economically painful reality of fixed stormwater drainage charges adding up on their monthly bills. However, after years of operating under this system, the Watershed Protection Department is changing its approach by rolling out a stormwater discount program. Currently, the program is in a pilot phase that has […]
Posted inWater
Watershed Protection begins testing to change Waller hydrology
After two years of toying with the possibility of emulating the natural hydrology of Austin’s pre-urbanized watersheds through man-made controls, the Watershed Protection Department is finally putting its theories to the test at Reilly Elementary School. Reilly Elementary sits at the head of the Waller Creek Watershed, a fully urbanized headwaters zone. Due to its […]