Tag Archives: Austin Water Utility
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 by Marisa Charpentier
Austin
Austin Water has restored service to residents, but broken pipes remain a big issue
Areas of Northwest and Southwest Austin that are still under a boil-water notice could be in the clear by Tuesday afternoon, Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said at a news conference Monday. “We have collected samples in areas yet to…
Friday, February 19, 2021 by Jonathan Lee
Water
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…
Friday, February 19, 2021 by Chad Swiatecki
City Council
City’s power, water committees begin looking at post-storm improvements
City Council members closely tied to Austin’s energy and water utilities have started mapping out their priorities for determining what led to this week’s massive infrastructure failures and what can be done in the future to prevent hundreds of thousands…
Thursday, February 18, 2021 by Marisa Charpentier
Water
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…
Wednesday, December 23, 2020 by Seth Smalley
Water
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…
Thursday, December 10, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Water
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…
Thursday, October 29, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Land Development Code
Water-saving code amendments coming
Years after the city’s Water Forward Committee recommended changes to require on-site water reuse systems for commercial development, an item to put the matter into city regulations appears headed for a City Council agenda in December. Austin Water Assistant Director…
Monday, August 31, 2020 by Mose Buchele
Water
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…
Tuesday, August 18, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Water
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…
Monday, August 17, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Parks
Neighbors of Bright Leaf worry about fire risk
After a City Council vote on July 29 allowing the city to take over management of Bright Leaf Preserve from the Austin Community Foundation, some residents worried about what that might mean for their Northwest Austin neighborhoods, especially in terms of…
Thursday, May 14, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Water
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…
Wednesday, April 1, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Hall
City takes precautions for critical employees
Electricity. Water. Trash pickup. The city of Austin provides all these services and we take it as a given that they will be there when we need them. Even as most Austinites have been ordered to stay home, the employees…
Monday, March 30, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Water
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,…
Friday, March 6, 2020 by Jo Clifton
Water
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…
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 by Jessi Devenyns
Uncategorized
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…
Monday, January 6, 2020 by Jo Clifton
City Hall
After years of service, Slusher retires from city
After nine years on City Council, about 18 months at Austin Energy and more than 12 years as Austin Water’s assistant director for environmental affairs and conservation, Daryl Slusher hung up his city spurs last week, retiring on Dec. 31.…
Monday, December 16, 2019 by Katherine Corley
Water
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…
Friday, November 8, 2019 by Jo Clifton
Water
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,…
Friday, November 1, 2019 by Jo Clifton
Uncategorized
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…
Monday, September 9, 2019 by Austin Monitor
Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: Water Forward
In this edition of Austin Monitor Radio, Austin Water Forward program manager Marisa Flores Gonzalez sits down with Monitor reporter Jessi Devenyns to talk water conservation. Specifically, the pair dive into the city’s plan to ensure access to safe drinking…
