Travis County Judge Shuts Down City Charter Election; Barton Springs Pool Closed for Repairs9/5/2024
 On Thursday, Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ordered Mayor Watson and the Austin City Council to stop a November election on 13 proposed amendments to the Austin City Charter. In granting Save Our Springs Alliance request for a temporary injunction, Judge Guerra Gamble stated that the City Council's violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act in the course of calling the charter amendment elections were blatant and intentional. Yesterday the City put out a press statement that they would not appeal the decision. They will likely reschedule a charter amendment election for May or November of 2025.
This was a huge win for open, transparent government and the rule of law. We thank everyone who supported this effort. We especially thank our lead attorney in this case, former Travis County Commissioners Court Judge Bill Aleshire and key consulting attorney, former SOS Board member Fred Lewis. Read the Austin American Statesman story here . And the Austin Free Press here for more on this case and the City Council's pattern of violating Texas' landmark open government law. Meanwhile, Barton Springs pool is closed, hopefully only for a few days. Pool staff report that an old, unused drain pipe under the pool collapsed. They estimate a few days is needed to fill in, or stabilize, the pool bottom. It's terrible timing with the holiday weekend upon us. A much bigger problem: Barton Springs flows are now at 22 cubic feet per second, less than half of long time average flows. Our water supply Highland Lakes are at 55% of storage capacity. With climate change, our reliable water supplies are substantially reduced. Yet our major water utilities -- Austin Water and LCRA -- and most of our smaller water suppliers, are spending billions to expand our water and wastewater facilities when we should be investing in the opposite path: conservation, efficiency, and reuse. Save Our Springs Alliance and Austin Voters Challenge Austin’s Proposed Charter Amendments Election8/21/2024
 Today the nonprofit water protection advocate Save Our Springs Alliance and two Austin voters and attorneys, SOS Executive Director Bill Bunch and former Texas Attorney General’s Office staff attorney Joe Riddell filed suit against Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and the Austin City Council to block the City’s last-minute placement of thirteen (13) proposed amendments to the Austin City Charter on the November 5, 2024 ballot. “Most of the proposed Charter Amendments would further reduce city hall transparency and accountability”, said SOS Executive Director Bill Bunch. The lawsuit, filed in Travis County District Court, claims that Mayor Watson and the City Council violated the Texas Open Meetings Act in voting at its Budget Hearing last Wednesday, August 14th, to include the proposed Propositions C through Proposition O on the same ballot with the required ballot for Austin Mayor and 5 of the 10 City Council seats. “Most of the proposed Charter Amendments would further reduce city hall transparency and accountability”, said SOS Executive Director Bill Bunch. “Seeking to hide this basic truth, the Mayor and Council majority called this last minute “emergency” election without the public notice and public participation required by state law. They are hoping uninformed voters overwhelmed by a lengthy ballot loaded with other state, federal, and local elections will simply vote “yes” to major City Charter changes hidden behind vague and friendly-sounding ballot language,” Bunch added. “The Austin City Council is becoming lawless, and this lawsuit is another example of their arrogant disdain for transparency. Mayor Watson and the Council majority are undermining democracy with violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act,” said Bill Aleshire, a former Travis County Judge and attorney for the Plaintiffs. Just last month and earlier this month, in a Texas Open Meetings Act lawsuit brought by the SOS Alliance against the Austin City Council, Travis County District Court Judge Daniella Deseta Lyttle ruled that the City Council’s public meeting procedures violated the Texas Open Meetings Act’s “right to speak” provisions in three separate ways. A key ruling in that case held that the City Council may limit the time that public speakers address the Council’s meetings, but that the limits must be “reasonable” and on an individual agenda item basis. In this case, Plaintiffs claim the City Council violated the statute and the court’s order by limiting public speakers to a total of 3 minutes to address fourteen separate proposed charter amendments. Ultimately, the Council voted to place 13 proposed amendments of the City’s constitution, known as a “city charter,” on the November ballot. Plaintiffs’ suit also claims that the City Council’s public notice stating that last week’s special Wednesday meeting was for “Budget Adoption Readings” and then, buried further down, providing only that “charter amendments” would be considered, was both misleading and insufficient to meet the Open Meetings Act’s requirements for giving notice of the “subject” of the Council actions. Where public action items are controversial or of special importance, Texas Courts have required greater specificity of the public notice for those actions. Given the last-minute calling of this election, if the Plaintiffs prevail in this case, the City Council will likely need to schedule any charter amendment elections for either May or November of 2025. Voters would then receive proper notice, have an opportunity to speak on potential amendments to the city charter that may be appropriate, and then to have plenty of time to educate themselves about the proposals before casting their ballots. The 13 proposed charter amendments include: Proposition K: Would, if approved, raise the City Manager’s right to contract for work without receiving City Council approval in a public city council meeting from the current limit of $43,000 up to $150,000. This is a huge increase in hidden spending, inviting waste and abuse of taxpayer funds. Proposition L: Would, if approved, remove city civil service protection for employees of the City Auditor’s office by making them political appointees. This would convert a critical, internal watchdog function into a purely political one. Proposition G: Would reduce the power of voters to initiate charter amendments and city ordinances by citizen petition by postponing votes on certified petitions from the next available election date to the next November election date in even numbered years. This delay would severely undermine the already limited right of local direct democracy by allowing “grandfathering” and city council actions to preempt or undermine the voter-initiated measure. Had it been in place when the Save Our Springs citizen-initiated ordinance was petitioned on to the ballot, the delay would have likely gutted the effectiveness of the ordinance. Proposition H: If approved, Prop. H would reduce voter power to petition a recall election of a sitting councilmember to almost zero by raising the required number of signatures from the current 10 percent of qualified voters in the single-member council district to 15 percent. This recall power has not been used in decades and the only reason to weaken it further is to shield bad officeholders from being removed by their own constituents. Other proposed charter amendments would also reduce city hall accountability and transparency. An initial court hearing in this case will likely be scheduled for later this week. —30— For further information, please contact: Bill Aleshire – 512-750-5854 Bill Bunch – 512-784-3749  We're excited to introduce SOS Environmental Attorney Victoria Rose (and kick off a new MEET OUR TEAM series). Rose has been an integral part of SOS since February 2022. With a deep passion for protecting our environment, Victoria’s work "locks in" with our mission. Her smile is golden, she is sharp as a tack, and her heart is with nature. Victoria is the lead attorney for a high profile case against Mirasol Springs which challenges the sprawling development near Hamilton Springs and Roy Creek, threatening several endangered species and the water quality in an extremely sensitive area. I sat down with Victoria to learn more about why she joined SOS and what makes her tick! Why did you join SOS? I’m excited about SOS’s mission to protect water quality and wildlife through litigation while also working to educate the public. The kinds of cases that I’m getting to work on really remind of me of my initial inspiration for wanting to become an attorney, and its exciting to show up to work everyday. What is the toughest part of the job? Waiting for a court’s decision in a case; I’m not good at waiting! What is the best advice you’ve ever received? An elephant is eaten one bite at a time. Remembering this helps me to take huge, overwhelming projects and break them down into manageable tasks so that I don’t get too anxious or overwhelmed to work effectively. What do you love most about what you do? I love having a job that aligns with my values and where I can work to protect the environment and the people and wildlife living in it. I also love the other people that work at SOS, and their excitement really keeps me going.  Tell us a surprising or a fun fact about you. In college I worked for a lab that studied grasshopper mice and bark scorpions. Part of my job included collecting scorpions in the desert. We would go out at night with ziplock bags, forceps, and a black light to find scorpions. The scorpions would glow green under the blacklight, and then we would pick them up by the tail with the forceps and toss them in the ziplock bag. I am crazy good at scorpion catching. Tell us about more about your role as an attorney at SOS, a case you’re working on, and what the ideal outcome is: While I work on a variety of cases, most of my cases center around challenging the issuance of a permit that would harm the environment. So, this includes challenging wastewater discharge permits and other kinds of permits at TCEQ and challenging groundwater production permits at groundwater conservation districts. The biggest case that I’m working on right now is our Mirasol Springs case, we are challenging two groundwater production permits, 1 wastewater permit, and 1 river diversion permit. The Mirasol Springs case also involves some endangered species work with the Texas fatmucket mussel and Pedernales River springs salamander. The ideal outcome of that case is the developer putting the entire parcel into a conservation easement in recognition of the sensitivity and rarity of the ecosystem on and near the proposed development. Alternatively, it would be great to see the development scaled back a lot and for the development to be served 100% by rainwater and beneficial reuse of wastewater. Why did you want to become an environmental attorney? I was always interested in becoming an attorney, perhaps from watching too much Law and Order, and I was always interested in the outdoors and nature and science. For a long time I didn’t have a plan to combine these two interests, but my undergraduate environmental law and ecology courses showed me how I could combine my interests and work towards helping people as an environmental attorney, and I have been on that course ever since. What’s your favorite “Bill Bunchism”? “Pollution delayed is pollution denied.” It helps me to remember that even when cases are tough or take a long time, we are still protecting the aquifer and springs by keeping pollution out of them for the time being. We're incredibly grateful for Victoria’s hard work and passion for protecting our springs and wildlife. Thank you, Victoria, for everything you do!   At Wednesday's special Austin City Council "Budget" meeting, the City Council first voted on placing 13 proposed amendments to the Austin City Charter on the November ballot. These will appear at the very bottom of the ballot, below votes for Mayor and 5 of the 10 city council seats. There was 5 minutes of discussion before the vote to call the election. Never heard of the proposed city charter amendments? Or only heard a bit about the proposals to reduce direct democracy by making it harder for citizen petitions for initiative and recall. That's the basic idea -- minimize public awareness of these moves that will reduce City Council and City Manager accountability to voters, while hoping the noise and distraction of an enormous November ballot keeps voters uninformed. Public notice on these actions was minimal and Mayor Watson made sure that public discussion and public comment on the proposals was minimized. While some of the proposed amendments -- including ones to make it harder to petition ordinances like the SOS ordinance onto the ballot (Prop. G) and to make it almost impossible to petition a recall election (Prop H)-- were subject to a Charter Review Commission process, many were added at the last minute by city staff and supported by the city council. For the ones subject to the Commission review, the City Council told the Commission upfront to gut voter initiative and recall powers at the outset. (Only Councilmembers Makenzie Kelly and Alison Alter opposed placing some of the more offensive amendments on the ballot.) We urge either voting "NO" on all of the proposed amendments, or vote "NO" on all but Prop I, which is the only measure that would strengthen City Hall accountability by having the City Attorney appointed by the City Council instead of the City Manager. This proposal barely lost in a previous charter amendment election. Read the ordinance calling the November 5 election HERE and stay tuned for further information. Meanwhile, tell your Austin voting friends to "just vote no thank you, on amending the Austin City Charter." Vote “NO” on Last Minute $440 Million Hays County Road Bond  On Tuesday, August 13, the Hays County Commissioners Court voted to place a $440 million road bond on the November ballot. The bond package includes over $200 million in funding for new and expanded roads over and upstream of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Many of these projects are designed to serve Hill Country developers and will only make traffic worse for current Hays County residents. If approved by Hays County voters, the road bonds would trigger an average tax increase of $80 per year for Hays County homeowners. Given the current economic climate, with inflation and rising living costs, the decision to increase taxes is a real brain-fart moment for a Commissioners Court that was supposed to be better than their predecessors. Virtually no one in Hays County was aware of the proposed bond package until early last week. Once the word got out, the environmental community united to ask that any bond proposal be postponed until next year, following a public stakeholder process to select the best projects for Hays County. Taxpayer and transportation advocates also urged the Hays County Commissioners Courts to postpone. The Commissioners ignored these requests from dozens of individuals and organizations. The bond package, if approved by Hays County voters, includes funding for a “Dripping Springs Bypass,” an extension of RM150 west of its current terminus at RM 12 that will do nothing for traffic congestion. The only purpose of this southwest Dripping Springs loop is to open up vast areas in the upper Onion Creek watershed for new development. Additionally, there is $7.5 million to support an extension of SH 45 SW through both Hays and Travis counties. Travis County Commissioners and environmental advocates have long opposed this project because, if built, it would convert Mopac from a local commuter highway into an alternative “I35 West,” diverting interstate and interregional traffic onto the Edwards Aquifer and through Zilker Park. If approved, the bond would also fund several other new “greenfield” roads aimed to unlock land over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone west of Kyle and Buda. Not all the projects included are bad—some will address safety concerns and serve the rapid development along the I-35 corridor. No one objected to these projects, but the Hays County Judge and Commissioners bundled the bad with the good, giving voters no choice but to say “yes” or “no.” SOS urges its Hays County supporters to vote “NO” on the road bonds this November. If defeated, the County Commissioners can do what was asked of them: appoint a citizen bond advisory committee to develop a bond package that meets transportation needs while protecting the beautiful and vulnerable Hill Country waters that feed San Marcos Springs, Barton Springs, Onion Creek, Barton Creek, and the Blanco River.  Thanks to YOUR loud opposition, the City Council has backed down from their proposal to raise pool entry fees at Barton Springs and other city pools. The proposed increase from $5 to $8 for resident adults—and similar hikes for other age groups—would have made our cherished pools less accessible to many in our community. SOS thanks you for speaking to keep our cherished pools a community refuge.
This decision is especially important given the facts: Despite Barton Springs Pool generating over $4 million in revenue annually, none of that money is specifically allocated to PARD. Meanwhile, the city’s golf program operates at a $600,000 surplus. These fee hikes were unnecessary and tone deaf at a time when public pools are essential to public health in the face of rising temps. City officials cited the “question and concern” raised by the community as the primary reason for rescinding the fee hike proposal. It’s clear that our collective voices made the difference. The fees will remain at their current levels, keeping our public pools affordable and open to all. This victory is a powerful reminder that when we stand together, we can make a difference. Let’s keep this momentum going. Take a moment to thank the City Council members who listened to our concerns and supported our vision for affordable public spaces.  Celebrate a unique collaboration between Save Our Springs, Hold Out Brewing, and GoodGood Beer Company on Saturday, July 20th, from 3-6 PM at the indoor mezzanine of Hold Out Brewing (1208 W 4th St, Austin, TX 78703). We're excited to present the refreshing peach gose Hold Out and GoodGood crafted with Fredericksburg peaches and lots of love, raising a glass to water quality and the protection of Barton Springs.
Enjoy the refreshing flavors and support a great cause! Take a dip at the springs beforehand, and show your Barton Springs stamp for a 10% discount on your tab. This event is not just about great beer—it’s about coming together to learn more about and protect the Edwards Aquifer, a vital water source for over 2 million people in Central Texas. Save Our Springs Alliance has been dedicated to protecting the aquifer since 1992, advocating through education, legal action, and community engagement. By partnering with GoodGood Beer and Hold Out Brewing, we aim to amplify the importance of water conservation and highlight the unique challenges facing our precious aquifer. Don’t miss this chance to mingle with fellow supporters, and enjoy educational talks with SOS staff and Executive Director Bill Bunch. Let’s make a toast to clean water and a sustainable future for Austin!  As we gear up for the crucial City Council meeting this Thursday, July 18th, we need your collective voices to protect Austin's future. While we understand the items related to South Central Waterfront and residential site plans (drainage review) are likely to be postponed (Items 99, 120, and 100), the stakes are high for Item 96, which proposes anti-democratic amendments to our City Charter that will push us backward. The Charter amendments propose raising the signature thresholds for voter-initiated ordinances and City Council recalls, making it nearly impossible for citizens to initiate change or hold council members accountable. The increase from 20,000 to 3.5% of total voters for ordinances, and from 10% to 15% of district voters for recalls, is a blatant attempt to stifle our voices and dismantle the very mechanisms that have driven transformative change in our city. This move aligns with the current administration's efforts to limit public participation and transparency, allowing more decisions behind closed doors. Voter-led petition efforts have been catalysts for change in Austin policy for decades, bringing together voices and encouraging more citizens to participate in the democratic process. The impacts of these efforts have brought about generational and transformative change, such as the SOS Initiative Ordinance leading to the prioritization of environmental protection throughout the City of Austin and the 10-1 Geographic Representation Charter amendments that led to the prioritization of equity and geographic fairness in the City policy. SOS urges the City Council to reject these amendments. The Council will consider placing a raft of proposed amendments to the Austin City Charter on the November ballot, and now is the time to tell them no. These proposed actions against our local democratic processes are in line with our current Mayor and Council's blatant hostility towards public participation at City Council meetings. We urge you to join us on July 18th to speak out on these critical issues. Please sign up to speak today and make your voice heard.  SOS Beer Launch This Saturday, Let's Gose Swimming! Saturday, July 20th, 3-6 pm @ Hold Out Brewery. Local brew heroes, Hold Out Brewing & GoodGood have teamed up with SOS to create a delightful Gose beer made with local hill country peaches and a lot of love. A percentage of all proceeds goes to SOS efforts. Come raise a glass with us to celebrate this unique collaboration! ***Barton Springs stamp gets you 10% off your entire tab*** Upstairs mezzanine @ Hold Out Brewing 1208 West 4th St. Austin TX, 3-6 pm  SOS Snorkel Tour This Saturday!
Saturday, July 20th, 8 am, Barton Springs. Join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes Snorkel Tour this weekend and experience the springs like never before. Dive down into the wonders of Edwards Aquifer, marvel at diverse plant and wildlife, explore underwater hydro-geologic features, and discover how we can all help keep our springs clean and flowing for future generations. Perfect for confident swimmers aged 7 and up. Don't miss this underwater adventure! South Gate of Barton Springs, 906 Azie Morton, 8 am  The Austin City Council is returning from its summer break, and it’s back to business. Here’s a quick sneak peek at what’s coming up in July.
Austin City Budget The Save Our Springs Alliance is proud to be a supporter of the Community Investment Budget (CIB), a project of over 45 local nonprofit attempting to reprioritize City of Austin investments to meet urgent needs for Austin residents and promote climate resilience. Mark your calendars for July 12th, at 10am—that’s when City Manager Broadnax will unveil the proposed FY 2025 budget. With the draft budget, we’ll see how the City of Austin intends to focus investments for the next fiscal year. SOS will be watchdogging for water-smart policies. That means making sure Austin’s water rates encourage conservation and don’t hit our low-use residential customers with hefty increases. Here are some key dates and opportunities to engage with the Austin City Council:
Austin City Council Meeting, July 18, 2024 On July 18, 2024, the Austin City Council will convene to discuss several items, and here’s a sneak peek at what’s on the agenda. Registration to speak starts Monday, July 15th at 10am. For full instructions on participation in person or by telephone, please visit the Council Meeting Information Center: http://austintexas.gov/department/city-council/council/council_meeting_info_center.htm. Here Are the Key Items We’re Watching
 Photograph by Chase A. Fountain, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Researched & written by Paul Robbins, May 7, 2024 Part 1 – Six Steps to Year Zero
This is the first of a two-part series on potential, and likely, water shortages that will afflict Austin in the coming decades, and how it will impact the city’s future. Part 1 looks at where are we were in April 2024 with the current drought, and what our future looks like with climate heating and a worst-case scenario. This future worst case is projected in six layers or steps to show the approximate year Austin reaches “Year Zero” with empty lakes if everything goes wrong at the same time, and gives a few examples of other places where it has gone wrong. Obviously, the Lakes have not gone dry yet. But when plausible and likely climate and consumption patterns collide with population growth, the prospect of dry lakes is no longer science fiction. Note to readers: The year 2023 is used as the baseline, but data in this analysis was sourced from the most current years available. These included 2022, 2023, and 2024. The Texas Weather: Where Erratic is “Normal” Texans are privileged to reside in one of the most temperamental regions of the U.S. The state is blessed with hurricanes, tornadoes, numerous lightning bursts, hail, debilitating heat, and even fierce blizzards in the northern part. These extremes have contributed to the character of the people, and by extension, the state’s history, in several major ways, including the massive infrastructure needed for its water systems. There is only one (partially) natural lake in the entire state. The other 196 major stationary “lakes” over 5,000 acre-feet in size are actually man-made reservoirs largely built to slake the state’s thirst. (An acre-foot would have supplied 5 Austin homes a year in 2023.) The collective area of these lakes is about 150% larger than Travis County. There is no other state in the country that has this much land covered with inland water bodies. The Central Texas Highland Lakes are a chain of six reservoirs along the Colorado River created for reliable water supplies in dry times, flood control in wet times, hydroelectricity, and irrigation for agriculture in counties near the Gulf Coast. When the two lakes used for reliable municipal water supplies were commissioned, Lake Buchanan (1937) and Lake Travis (1942), they were viewed by most Central Texas residents as virtually inexhaustible. But a lot can happen in 90 years: an almost 12-fold increase in the population of Central Texas; the growth of major industry; way more water-cooled power plants; sediment deposits that diminish the Lakes’ storage capacity, severe droughts, and increasing severity of drought caused by global warming. On April 17, 2024, the Highland Lakes that store Austin’s water supply were only 42% full. There have only been 4 periods since 1941 when they have been lower. In an attempt to look at the worst case, this analysis attempts to layer on the challenges facing Central Texas water supplies caused by drought, global warming, increasing population, and sedimentation. The Real Drought of Record Of all the extreme weather conditions that afflict Texas, droughts are the most common. According to the NOAA Storm Events database, in 2023, 23% of all drought incidents in the U.S. occurred in Texas. When water supply planners and utilities in Austin and Texas plan for emergency supplies, they generally refer to the state’s “drought of record,” which occurred between 1951 to 1956. In this time period, Central Texas experienced a 25% decrease in precipitation compared to recent history.  Water Shortage Step 1: The Historical Drought of Record However, Texas weather data only goes back to 1895. When scientists used observations from tree rings to reconstruct climate history going back to 1500, they discovered droughts in Central Texas were much worse using a similar metric that measures precipitation and temperature together, the “Palmer Drought Severity Index.” The worst, from 1712 to 1717, scored an Index rating 35% worse than the 1950s drought of record.  Water Shortage Step 2: Using calculations derived from tree rings, scientists have identified 3 extended droughts in Central Texas worse than the one in the 1950s. Things Can Always Get Worse: Drought with Global Warming As global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions intensifies, it poses an ironic challenge for Texas. How do you define the new normal in a state where being normal is being erratic, and where the landscape is already scarred by weather hazards? Austin’s water utility, Austin Water, currently has contracts with the University of Texas Jackson School of Geosciences to assess how climate change will impact the temperature and rainfall in the not-too-distant future. Though no final conclusions have been made yet, the draft report’s predictions are staggering. The study explored three different internationally-recognized carbon emission scenarios. These have various emission levels depending on the year as described in this chart.
 Water Shortage Step 3: Computer simulations for two 20-year periods show dramatic decreases in average monthly Colorado River flows at Austin. Water availability adjusted for the droughts of the 1950s and the 1700s and global warming could be cut yet again by another 13% to 25%. Sedimentation If drought and excessive demand are not enough to threaten water supplies, there is the phenomenon of erosion or sedimentation. All water bodies, natural and man-made, are subject to loss of capacity from erosion as soil is swept into them by rainfall and wind. This is often compounded by runoff from human development. Lakes Buchanan and Travis have lost 11% and 1.5% of their original capacity, respectively, since they were built. And there are those who have it worse. Lake Steinhagen in East Texas has lost 35% of its volume since it was completed in 1951. Reservoirs can theoretically have the silt dredged and removed to restore their original capacity. However, industrial dredging on this scale is humongously expensive. To give an example of the high cost of dredging, a study for restoring Lake Buchanan in 1990, updated to 2024 dollars, was approximately 13 times the cost per acre-foot that LCRA charged for water. While continued sedimentation of the Highland Lakes will be minor from one year to the next, it will also be cumulative and unrelenting. By 2050, it will represent an additional 20,400 acre-feet of water storage loss, equivalent to almost 93,000 Austin homes at 2023 levels of consumption.  Water Shortage Step 4: Sedimentation in the Highland Lakes is expected to lose enough water supply to provide for almost 93,000 Austin homes by 2050. Increasing Demand: Too Many People Using Too Much Water In 1956, the Austin business community began an aggressive campaign to recruit businesses to the city, and has not stopped to this day. The campaign’s achievements have been so successful that, according to the U.S. Census in 2023, Austin was the 10th largest city in the country. In 2023, Austin’s water utility served 1,146,000 people in a service territory of more than 548 square miles. By 2030, it is predicted to rise to 1.3 million; by 2050, almost 1.7 million, and by 2100, 2.8 million. Based on this growth rate, municipal use of the Highland Lakes for Central Texas cities (not just Austin) will almost triple between 2023 and 2080. Even if all other uses, such as industrial and recreational, remain static, total consumption will more than double. And this estimation is conservative. If water consumption increases at the rate of population growth in Central Texas, total consumption will more than quadruple.  Water Shortage Step 5: Predicted rising water demand of the Highland Lakes Stagnating Water Conservation Effects At the same time, use per person is not falling. Austin Water began an intense water conservation effort in 2007, and saw its per-person water use plummet from 190 gallons per capita per day to as low as 120 gallons per capita per day in 2019. But the progress has flattened and consumption has even buoyed up slightly from this low-water mark.  Water Shortage Step 6: Water consumption fell dramatically after more water conservation programs were implemented in 2007, but this progress has stalled in recent years. In fact, this stubborn per capita usage, combined with low rainfall in 2022, sent Austin’s total water consumption to a record high of 174,000 acre-feet. And if Everything Goes Wrong… When all these water supply stressors are layered over each other, it shows just how fragile the future of Central Texas could be. 
This worst-case drought and global warming scenario (with moderate consumption) shows the Highland Lakes at only 4% of their full (2 million acre-feet) capacity in 2023 and running dry between 2030 and 2040. Some of this residual water would require pumps to remove because the lake levels would be too low for water to flow with gravity. It Can’t Happen Here (But It Happened There) Skeptics of these dire warnings will say it is highly improbable that all these plagues will occur at once – that the odds are so low as to be minuscule. But a relatively short distance northwest of Lake Buchanan, four Texas reservoirs in the Upper Colorado River Basin have crashed several times, and for lengthy periods of time, because of drought and overuse.  The E.V Spence reservoir, 145 miles from Buchanan, was completed in 1969. It has never held close to its designed volume, and crashed during a lengthy period in the last decade.  Lake J.B. Thomas, 210 miles from Buchanan, was commissioned in 1952. It has not been full since about 1965, and has crashed at least twice.  Lake O.C. Fisher near San Angelo, 130 miles from Buchanan, has only filled to capacity once since it was completed in 1952, and has been empty or near empty during many years of its existence.  Twin Butte Reservoir, also near San Angelo, was completed in 1963. It has not been at capacity since the late 1970s, and has been empty or near empty for a considerable time period since 2000. Skeptics of an Austin water shortage will point out that these reservoirs are in a more arid climate. But that is the whole point of this article: calculating how much water in Central Texas will be available during the plagues of drought, global warming, and over consumption. In fact, the Austin Water utility recently conducted its own simulations with advanced global warming scenarios, indicating a 6% chance of dry lakes under extreme conditions in 2030, rising to a 63% chance by 2080. This did not include using the extreme drought history from the 1700s.  Recent simulations by Austin Water showing chance of empty Highland Lakes with advanced global warming. Of course, long before the Highland Lakes dipped anywhere close to these dangerous levels, massive and rigid water conservation measures would be enforced. However, as the region’s population increases rapidly and rabidly, even these drastic measures will become less effective at providing a secure supply.
Calculating how much water Central Texas will need during the worst-case plagues of drought, global warming, and over consumption is no longer science fiction. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This is the first of a two-part feature on potential, and likely, water shortages that will afflict Central Texas in the coming decades. Next: Part 2 – The Malpractice of Ignoring Aggressive Water Conservation. Research for this story was funded with a grant from the Save Our Springs Alliance. Stay tuned.  On July 1, 2024, Judge Daniella Deseta Lyttle issued a ruling that once again found the Austin City Council’s meeting procedures violate the Texas Open Meetings Act. This marks the third time that Travis County Judge has ruled that the City Council’s restrictions on public speaking testimony fail to guarantee the public’s “right to speak.” Before these recent rulings, the Austin City Council limited public comments to 1 minute per speaker during regular council meetings, regardless of the number of items on the agenda (often exceeding 100 items per meeting). For instance, if an Austinite signed up to speak on four items, they would have an average of only 15 seconds per item to address the council. As a result of a lawsuit filed by SOS (Save Our Springs Alliance), the City Council was compelled to revise its meeting procedures and eliminate these collective time limits. Now, members of the public are granted a minimum of 2 minutes to speak on each item during the City Council’s Thursday meetings. You can find more information in the Austin Free Press (and sign up for AFP news alerts). The July 1st ruling also removed language that the City Council had inserted into their new procedures, which would have nullified the legal impact of these time limits. A separate claim was dismissed by the court challenging the City Council's Tuesday work session procedures that prohibit public speakers. Often, the council discusses and begins to take positions on items scheduled for the regular Thursday council meetings. Unfortunately, this means that having the right to speak at the Thursday meetings comes too late for meaningful input. SOS will be evaluating its legal options concerning this claim. Thank you for your support on this lawsuit. With your help, we have amplified the public's voice at Austin City Hall. City of Austin Proposes to Delete Drainage Requirements
Code changes are headed to the Planning Commission Tuesday night that would remove requirements for multi-unit developments (up to 16 residential units) to install onsite detention (holding ponds for stormwater). These developments would merely need to submit a drainage plan to demonstrate that stormwater runoff is discharged into the street. There would be no requirement for an assessment that existing stormwater drain systems could handle increased flows, nor would there be a drainage review from the City of Austin to ensure that the new developments don’t increase risks of lot-to-lot flooding or harm our creeks.
To assess flooding risks in Austin’s neighborhoods, SOS commissioned a study that looked at flood-related incidents reported to Austin’s 311 call center between January 1, 2020, and November 21, 2023. Over the past 4 years, nearly 600 flood incidents occurred outside known floodplains, indicating local and lot-to-lot flooding. Additionally, approx. 190 reported incidents could be linked to clogged or overstressed drainage infrastructure, posing challenges for the city’s flood management efforts. The Austin City Council recently approved city code amendments under the “HOME” initiative that reduced lot sizes for single-family residential lots across the city and increased the number of units that can be built on each lot. Lots that were previously used for one lot can now be subdivided and used for multiple units. Depending on the size of the original lot or lots, this could increase the number of units and associated pavement substantially. These code changes will undeniably lead to more impervious cover, which means increased flows and volumes of stormwater leaving these properties. All of this leads to the question—why would Austin delete its drainage requirements? Climate resiliency requires proactive planning, and Austin must address its flooding issues--now and into the future.  SOS will be back in court Monday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. for a final hearing in our "public right to speak" case against the Austin City Council. The hearing will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the court of the Honorable Travis County District Judge Daniella Deseta Lyttle on the 10th Floor of the Travis County Civil Courthouse, 1700 Guadalupe. The hearing will last approximately 2 hours and the public is invited. Please attend and observe if you are interested and available.
SOS already won much of this case with two prior court rulings and the Austin City Council adopting new City Council meeting procedures that limit public speakers on a "per item" basis. This means members of the public get at least 2 minutes to speak on each and every item on the City Council's Thursday meeting agendas. Read more here at the Austin Free Press (and sign up for AFP news alerts). However, the City Council's new procedures still prohibit public speakers at Tuesday City Council work session meetings. Often, the council will discuss and begin to stake out positions on items set for the regular Thursday council meetings. When they do this, having the right to speak at the Thursday meetings is too late. The Texas Open Meetings Act specifically calls for a public right to speak at the same meeting where there is "consideration" of an action, even if no action is taken. Also, the City Council's new meeting procedures, while adopted by city ordinance as required by the City Charter, state that the procedures are merely "directory" and nonbinding on the council. SOS reads the statute to require an enforceable "rule" on public speaking that is "reasonable" if the council wishes to limit public speakers to a set amount of time. This "right to speak" 2019 amendment to the Texas Open Meetings Act is an important guarantee for public participation in the decisionmaking of city councils, county commissioners courts, and other local governing bodies. With your support we have already set important legal precedent in this case. We will do our best to extend these protections on Monday. |
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