Environment
Wednesday, November 25, 2020 by Daniel Salazar
Environment
Environmental Commission approves variances for water treatment plant upgrades
The Environmental Commission on Friday approved a series of environmental variances for improvements to the Albert H. Ullrich water treatment plant near Tom Miller Dam and Red Bud Isle west of downtown Austin. A total of seven variances are needed…
Thursday, November 19, 2020 by Tara Phipps
Environment
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…
Friday, November 13, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Environment
Residents may be able to reject herbicide
City Council approved contracts on Thursday with Asplundh Tree Expert, Davey Tree Surgery and Wright Tree Service to manage vegetation around Austin Energy lines after Council Member Ann Kitchen added some direction to staff about a previously unknown aspect of…
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 by Mose Buchele
Environment
Some air pollutants increased in Austin during the pandemic. The big question is why?
As Covid-19 spread across the globe in the spring, people noticed a strange side effect of the pandemic: The air was getting cleaner. Stay-at-home orders, along with the economic crash caused by the outbreak, meant less industrial and transportation-related pollution.…
Friday, October 9, 2020 by Savana Dunning
Environment
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…
Tuesday, September 15, 2020 by Ryan Thornton
Environment
Commissioners identify reliance on electric vehicles as weakness in revised Climate Equity Plan
Transportation is the main driver of local air pollution and is on its way to becoming the single greatest source of greenhouse gases in Austin. Though the city and Capital Area Metropolitan Transportation Authority are taking steps to electrify their…
