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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,…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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Over 60 roadway improvements require relocation of water and wastewater lines

At the Dec. 11 meeting of the Water and Wastewater Commission, Austin Water presented an update on the 65 active transportation improvement projects that necessitate the repositioning of water utility lines. Of those projects, 56 percent are in the planning…

Fighting zebra mussels to be costly

Zebra mussels, the tiny mollusks that have infested lakes from the Great Lakes to Lake Travis, have now proliferated in Lake Austin. “They’re on the docks and on the piers in the millions, maybe the billions,” according to Greg Meszaros,…

Audit: City water employees misused positions

Two employees of Austin Water misused their positions to generate business for a plumbing business owned by one of the employees, according to an investigative report issued Thursday by the Office of the City Auditor. That business owner/city employee, Rodney…

Hays and Travis counties prioritize aquifer conservation

The Trinity Aquifer is the primary groundwater supply for Hill Country residents in both Hays and Travis counties. But as a natural resource, its freshwater supply is limited, even as populations continue to grow. Already, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation…

Permit granted for annual extraction of 289 million gallons from Trinity Aquifer

The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District granted a permit to Needmore Water LLC on Monday evening to pump up to 289,080,000 gallons of water per year from the Trinity Aquifer. According to the applicant, the water will be used for…

AW assures: Austin's lead pipes pose little threat

In the wake of the drinking water scandal in Flint, Michigan, the issue of lead in drinking water has come to the forefront of the nation’s – and Austin’s – attention. Until July 9, Matt Cullen of Austin Water said…

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