According to the Lower Colorado River Authority, in 2022, Colorado County can expect to have a new freshwater reservoir at its disposal. Called the Prairie Conservation Reservoir, this small 2,000-acre-foot off-channel reservoir is intended to help improve the stability of the fresh water supply for Austin and the surrounding areas. The reservoir will be located on a 1,988-acre tract of land that was purchased in 2015, but the engineers have yet to determine the exact location for construction. This, coupled with the ever-increasing cost of construction caused John Hofmann, LCRA’s executive vice president of water, to explain to the authority’s board of directors last Wednesday that “the (current) cost numbers have a lot of contingencies in them.” Currently, he said, “we’re estimating the construction cost somewhere around $16 million,” he said. According to him, this is a very high-level estimation and is subject to change by 20 percent in either direction. To help offset the expected costs, the LCRA received an $8 million federal partnership award. However, this grant comes with strings. Before construction can begin, the project is required to complete a watershed plan, which Hofmann explained is a “significant undertaking.” Nevertheless, with the engineering and design help of AECOM, Hofmann was confident that the reservoir would be up and running by the planned 2022 date.

Down at the Colorado River Delta lies Matagorda Bay. Predictably, this coastal land has a plentiful supply of salt water but lacks sources of fresh water. Recognizing the area’s need for sources of fresh water other than Lake Travis surface water, engineers recently determined that the brackish water in the Matagorda Bay area could serve as a new water supply. Surprisingly, the brackish water – a mix of salt and fresh water – has extremely low salt levels in the area. The Lower Colorado River Authority sets a goal for potable water to be below 15 parts per thousand, and the water in the Matagorda Bay is 1 to 3 parts per thousand. “It’s not what we would prefer to drink,” explained John Hofmann, the authority’s executive vice president of water, at the most recent meeting of the LCRA Board of Directors. However, he said, “The water quality is good. It’s almost like fresh water.” In order to provide the area with access to this water, the LCRA is proposing a pilot study where it would drill wells along the bay estuary to assess the feasibility of sourcing this water on a larger scale. The pilot project is estimated to cost between $3 million and $4 million. “Our critical path right now is to search for funding,” Hofmann said. LCRA is partnering with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to identify the optimal site for the pilot, which Phil Wilson, the general manager of LCRA, hopes will be a “creative way to utilize the resources there.”

The Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees has been discussing the renaming of five schools that are named after people with ties to the Confederacy. The district would now like to open that discussion up to the community before it votes on Feb. 26. The first meeting will be today, Feb. 20, at the Austin Community College Eastview Campus Auditorium, 3401 Webberville Road; the second one is on Feb. 22, at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church Gymnasium, 200 W. Anderson Lane. Both meetings will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The meetings will not focus on specific school names but rather the idea of renaming all the schools. Food, interpretation and child care will be provided. Contact Laura DeGrush at 512-414-4962 or laura.degrush@austinisd.org for more information.

The Wood Street Settlement at Shoal Creek has received an Official Texas Historical Marker from the Texas Historical Commission. The area was nominated to the Undertold Markers program by the Shoal Creek Conservancy with assistance from the Parks and Recreation Department and Travis County Historical Commission. The program is “designed to address historical gaps and proactively document underrepresented subjects and untold stories,” and it will fund the marker. The city’s press release describes the area as “once home to a distinct enclave of African American and later Tejano residents. As the frontier city’s natural western boundary, Shoal Creek became a settling point for formerly enslaved people following the Civil War. … As the 1928 City Master Plan pushed African Americans into East Austin, Tejanos began to occupy the houses along Shoal Creek, likely connected to the significant cultural enclave located just east of Shoal Creek in the area around Republic Square. Tejano families continued to live in the neighborhood until the 1980s when most of the houses had disappeared due to flooding and demolition. Although many of the physical reminders of this era in Austin’s history are gone, residents of Wood Street at Shoal Creek were major contributors to the rich and diverse ethnic historical geography of Austin.” There will be a dedication ceremony this Friday, Feb. 23, at 9 a.m. at 600 Wood St. Confirmed speakers include Texas Historical Commissioner Wallace Jefferson, Travis County Historical Commissioner Joe Ramirez and state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.

The Feb. 20 meeting of the Zoning and Platting Commission has been postponed, but at the end of the day on Monday, Vice Chair Jim Duncan told the Austin Monitor that he and Chair Jolene Kiolbassa had not been able to find out why. The agenda for the meeting had been posted as usual last Friday, but it was not until Monday morning that Duncan heard the news. City offices were closed for Presidents Day, so staff could not be reached for an explanation. Duncan said he was disappointed, considering the commission’s long list of cases and its commitment to review and make a final recommendation on the third draft of CodeNEXT, which was published on Feb. 12. “I’m sure there’s a good reason,” he said, as to why staff moved back the meeting. “Well, actually, I’m not so sure.”

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority has released a final set of shiny renderings showcasing the reconstructed MetroRail Downtown Station. The images feature various angles of the double-sided platform that will be able to accommodate three pairs of its Stadler-produced rail cars. The project is now budgeted at $39.4 million, almost double the original $22 million estimate that will be covered by a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation. The city of Austin is chipping in $3 million to pay for utility work necessitated by the work between the Downtown Hilton and the Austin Convention Center on East Fourth Street. Once completed, the road between Trinity and Red River streets will be permanently shut off to car traffic, and Neches Street will be converted into a cul-de-sac in front of the hotel. The plan would shift the station to the east, creating a public plaza between the platform and Trinity Street that could eventually lead to the rehabilitation of Brush Square into a space on the order of the newly renovated Republic Square Park. Capital Metro is holding an open house on Wednesday to present the Downtown Station plans to the public. The come-and-go event will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the convention center’s Ballroom B.

Monday, Feb. 19, is Presidents Day, and the Austin Monitor will be taking the day off. Have a great weekend; we’ll see you on Tuesday!

It’s not just City Council that is trying to pitch in and help Austin artists and musicians. A pair of events on Feb. 21 is aimed at providing more resources and revenue to Austin musicians, who are finding it increasingly difficult to earn a living through their creative output as Austin grows. The more established of the two events is Feel the Love, a free expo now in its fourth year that brings together more than a dozen music-related nonprofits based in Austin, with the goal of connecting musicians and others in the local music industry with organizations that can provide career guidance, health care services, mentoring and other assistance. That soiree kicks off at 7 p.m. at Emo’s East, 2015 E. Riverside Dr. The newcomer event is the launch for Musicians’ Living Wage, an advocacy group with the goal of helping Austin musicians earn more through their music. Live music performances bookend a two-hour panel with nine local performers and industry insiders who will offer their take on how to put more money in musicians’ pockets. Doors for that one open at 6 p.m. at the North Door, 501 Brushy St., with tickets starting at $25 available through Eventbrite.

The Urban Transportation Commission on Tuesday night approved a recommendation for City Council to revise parking regulations that encourage the widespread use of single-occupant vehicles. The recommendation, sponsored by Commissioner Kelly Davis, calls on Council to consider “reducing the number of vehicular parking spaces and allowing parking requirements to be met through alternative approaches demonstrated to reduce parking demand and (greenhouse gas) emissions, such as on-site car-sharing, bicycle parking, and transit passes.” It also urges the city to develop a “model commute reduction program” that gradually weans city employees in transit-rich locations off of free parking through the use of incentives. Commissioner Michael Wilfley expressed concerns that this last part could adversely harm some city workers. “You have a situation where most of them live outside of the city of Austin,” said Wilfley. “They can’t afford to live in Austin, so you’re penalizing them for living in Buda.” Davis responded that the city’s Community Climate Action Plan already calls for the phasing out of free parking for city employees and that she simply wants to accelerate that process. The recommendation also urges Council to update the climate plan “to prioritize and include transportation recommendations to implement high-capacity public transit.” The UTC passed the recommendation on a 9-0 vote with Commissioner Chris Hosek absent from the meeting.

Trustee Ann Teich has a reputation of occasionally slipping in and out of sarcasm when making comments at meetings of the Austin Independent School District board, so it is difficult to discern how sincere she was when, at the Feb. 12 work session, she accused the media of excessively amplifying the issue of the proposed renaming of several district facilities bearing the titles of Confederate military personnel. “Those of you operating the cameras, you’re not the ones in charge of this. It’s your bosses who are telling you to be here, because they know it sells,” Teich said to the media in the room. “The fact that they’re more interested in this than they are in our academic achievements is a bit concerning to me.” Later in the meeting, Trustee Julie Cowan voiced her agreement with Teich’s earlier statement. Whereas the renaming of Robert E. Lee Elementary School in 2016 had more community backing, she did not feel that other schools’ names were under scrutiny for the same reasons. “It’s only because this is what the media probably wants us to be doing,” Cowan said.

Austin B-cycle is making it easier for UT students to bike between classes. The city-backed bike-sharing nonprofit cut the ribbon on five new stations inside the Forty Acres on Wednesday. Another four stations also opened in West Campus. The expansion brings B-cycle’s local inventory up to 63 stations and 520 bikes. In addition to the new stations, B-cycle also struck a deal with UT that allows current students to ride for free. University staff is also eligible for a 50 percent discount on annual B-cycle memberships. B-cycle Executive Director Elliott McFadden told the Austin Monitor, “We’re excited for this new mobility option for students, and we think it’s going to be a big success.”

KLRU has received a grant of $191,790 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the American Graduate: Getting to Work initiative, which aims to help advance local career readiness and education. “KLRU is pleased to receive funding to help raise awareness around workforce issues,” CEO Bill Stotesbery said in the press release. “The area’s workforce issues are critical as presented in the recent Austin Metro Area Master Community Workforce Plan. Austin’s booming economy presents many opportunities and challenges. KLRU can help advance the Plan by amplifying the work of the organizations currently in this space and by raising the visibility of Austin’s existing resources and strategic initiatives available to jobseekers.” The American Graduate initiative was launched in 2011 with the goal of improving the country’s dropout rate. The initiative was a large success and is credited for raising the high school graduation rate to 84 percent, which is an all-time high for the nation. Getting to Work is the second phase of this initiative, in which the station will “work with partners in Central Texas to assess workforce challenges and opportunities, and produce content focused on the essential skills needed for students and workers to succeed in the job markets of today and tomorrow.” Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo said, “I applaud KLRU’s continued commitment to promoting education and career readiness. The American Graduate initiative will help amplify our community’s ongoing efforts to ensure that Austinites of different backgrounds and skill levels all have the ability to experience prosperity and economic opportunity.”