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Water
Austin Water responds to 'demoralizing' water outages
Austin Water gave a presentation to the Water Oversight Committee on Wednesday detailing the timeline of the water outages last month, preparation for future disasters and upcoming utility bill relief measures. City Council members demanded to know how a substantial…
Water • By Jonathan Lee • Mar 4, 2021
City says water outages could last for days
Many Austinites remain completely without water Friday as tens of thousands of cold-related leaks riddle water mains and pipes, leaving the city in a water crisis that is set to last days. “We never imagined the day where hospitals wouldn’t…
Water • By Jonathan Lee • Feb 19, 2021
Austin Water issues citywide boil-water notice, urges residents to conserve water
Austin Water has issued a citywide boil-water notice as a result of “extreme weather conditions.” In a statement Wednesday night, the utility said there had been power loss at the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant, its largest water-treatment facility, and drops…
Water • By Marisa Charpentier, KUT • Feb 18, 2021
ZAP OKs Ullrich plant variances
The Zoning and Platting Commission voted at its Dec. 15 meeting to recommend the approval of seven environmental variances for the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant, with a stipulation that the size of an access road included in the project be…
Water • By Seth Smalley • Dec 23, 2020
Council OKs contract for Ullrich repairs
After a considerable amount of discussion at its Thursday meeting, City Council approved a contract of more than $22 million, plus a 10 percent contingency, for a joint venture to rebuild the electrical pump station serving the Ullrich water treatment…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Dec 11, 2020
Garza questions penalties in water reuse rules
City Council is poised to adopt two ordinances at today’s meeting establishing regulations for on-site water reuse systems as well as water cooling towers. Council has unanimously supported the ideas behind the Water Forward plan that are aimed at reducing…
Water • By Jo Clifton • Dec 10, 2020
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Proposed discharge permit draws ire of city, Environmental Commission
The Environmental Commission received an update Wednesday on the impacts of a proposed wastewater treatment plant southwest of Austin. Abel Porras, the supervising engineer in the Environmental Resource Management Division of the city’s Watershed Protection Department, described the water quality…
Water • By Daniel Salazar • Oct 28, 2020
City could store three Lake Austins' worth of water underground by 2040
Austin gets all of its water from the Highland Lakes, but that might not always be the case. The city recently took a first step toward storing massive amounts of water underground. If the plan works, it could help Austin…
Water • By Mose Buchele, KUT • Aug 31, 2020
Tesla urged to use water-saving measures
As Tesla speeds ahead with converting an old sand and gravel mining site in eastern Travis County into a manufacturing facility for its Cybertruck and Model Y SUV, City Council members have begun asking questions about how much water the…
Water • By Jo Clifton • Aug 21, 2020
Austin Water aims to bring new conservation ordinances before Council in December
Timelines across the city have been adjusted or paused following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the ongoing limitations imposed by the “new normal” have not stopped Austin Water from developing new conservation ordinances to bring before City Council…
Water • By Jessi Devenyns • Aug 18, 2020
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…
Water • By Mose Buchele, KUT • Jul 13, 2020
With businesses shut, Austin Water's revenues fall
Austin Water, which contributed an extra $5 million to the city’s utility customer assistance program and cut rates by 10 percent in an effort to help those affected by the coronavirus, has itself felt the impact of business closures on…
