Save Our Springs Alliance

Next Monday the Austin City Council will vote on the City budget – including proposed water rate hikes to pay for the $1.2 billion Water Treatment Plant No. 4

Speak up today and through the weekend or pay every month for decades into the future for this boondoggle project.  Email the entire council at savewatersavemoney.org and call Council Member Sheryl Cole at 974-2266 and/or Council Member Mike Martinez at 974-2264 and tell them to vote “NO” on the water rate hikes.  

Your voice will join that of Save Our Springs, Public Citizen, Gray Panthers, Austin NAACP, PODER, Austin Social Action Coalition, Liveable City, Clean Water Action, and many others opposing the water rate hikes.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Save Our Springs Alliance today formally notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of their intent to sue the agency for failing to provide emergency protection for a rare Texas salamander, the Jollyville Plateau salamander, threatened by construction of the proposed $1.2 billion Water Treatment Plant 4. The city of Austin’s project in the heart of salamander habitat poses an urgent threat to the species’ survival. The groups are seeking immediate protections under the Endangered Species Act; today’s 60-day notice is a prerequisite to filing suit.

The City Council public hearing on the proposed 2011 city budget and water rate hikes was set for 4:00 p.m.   Between 50 and 100 people showed up to oppose the rate hikes and the Billion Dollar Mistake on the Lake (aka Water Treatment Plant No. 4) driving the rate hikes.   Well over a 1000 more sent emails to the council opposing the rate hikes.

But the public hearing didn’t start until 9:30 – five-and-a-half hours later.  Of course by that time many people had left to attend to their lives and families.  Mayor Leffingwell then tried to shut down the hearing at 10, after only a few speakers had spoken.  The remainder of the council said no.  The Mayor then tried to tell the 50 or so folks who remained that the billion dollar water plant was not part of the budget and not relevant to the hearing.   Needless to say, that did not go over too well.