 Every summer SOS’s team of staff attorneys is joined by two to three law students for a season of hands on learning and environmental advocacy. Our Summer Law Clerks have the opportunity to work closely with SOS attorneys on a variety of projects from researching cutting edge legal issues to drafting motions and briefs to attending public meetings and making comments. This summer, our law clerks delve deep into issues surrounding data centers, land use and the SOS Ordinance, and of course, water use! A summer clerkship with SOS represents a unique opportunity for law students with a demonstrated passion for environmental or public interest advocacy to dive head first into meaningful legal work while contributing to projects that have a real impact on protecting Central Texas’s land, water, and communities. For SOS, the summer clerkships exemplify SOS’s commitment to education, mentorship, and investing in the next generation of environmental champions. Let's meet the team!
Check out the fun from Sunday's Barton Springs Bridge 100th Birthday Celebration. Images members of the Bat City Brass Band leading a parade from the pool to the bridge, Bill Oliver and the Otter Space Band on a floating stage under the bridge, and our many friends who helped celebrate this beautiful Austin landmark.  Travis County is being asked to commit $649 million in County property-tax incentives toward the proposed Dog’s Head TIRZ, part of a public subsidy package exceeding $2.2 billion for a private development agreement negotiated behind closed doors and rushed through City of Austin approval. The current agreement locks in extraordinary development rights for 45 years across roughly 2,614 acres of Colorado River frontage, while weakening basic protections for nearby residents, water quality, and floodplains. And it abandons the long-standing Colorado River Corridor Plan’s vision for environmental restoration along one of the most ecologically diverse stretches of urban river. Check out this article in the Austin Chronicle about the environmental community’s response to this disastrous decision by the Austin City Council. Please attend the Wednesday County meeting (700 Lavaca Street, 1st Floor, Austin, TX 78701) and urge Travis County officials to reject any County participation in the Dog’s Head TIRZ, tax abatement, or other incentive unless the current Development Agreement is withdrawn and replaced through a transparent public process. You can sign up to speak on Item 20, here: https://www.traviscountytx.gov/commissioners-court. Registration is open until 8am on Wednesday. We anticipate the item will be heard in the afternoon but cannot guarantee timing. The wait is over! Barton Springs Pool reopened today, and we hope you have a chance for a refreshing dip in one of Austin's greatest treasures this week.
The recent rains have been a welcome drench after years of drought. According to Austin Watershed Protection Conservation Program Supervisor Nathan Bendik, this was the first flood-related pool drawdown since October 2021. It's a remarkable reminder of just how dry Central Texas has been and how important every soaking rain is for our creeks, springs, and aquifer. Enjoy the cool, clear water this week, and as always, thank you for helping us protect the springs we all need to stay cool in these unbearable Texas summers. Happy swimming! SOS Alliance In this Issue:
 Hays Commons Development Agreement Rejected On Tuesday, June 9th, the Hays County Commissioners voted 3-1 to reject the proposed Development Agreement for Hays Commons, a massive residential and commercial subdivision proposed over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, along the Hays County border with Travis County. We are grateful for the over 70 individuals who took action by writing in comments or speaking at the commissioners court meeting. We are also especially appreciative of Judge Ruben Becerra, Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, and Commissioner Morgan Hammer who voted against the agreement. If approved, it would have allowed the developer variances to maximize the development intensity of its project and helped unlock the developer’s plans to spray treated effluent on 60+ acres of the Recharge Zone. This “win” is just one chapter in the ongoing efforts to prevent the overdevelopment of these environmentally sensitive lands. The developer has repeatedly sought to maximize profits at the expense of the community's groundwater, and this rejection by the Hays County Commissioners Court sends a clear message that such practices won’t be rewarded. We will continue to monitor the situation, share updates, and encourage residents to stay engaged and take action. As you may already be aware, Save Our Springs, City of Hays, and Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District remain involved in an active contested permitting process, where the developer is trying to get TCEQ approval to use the Recharge Zone as a wastewater disposal field. We need help funding scientific experts to defend the aquifer. If you can contribute, please do so by donating below. Every little bit helps.  Happy 100th Birthday, Barton Springs Bridge! For 100 years, the Barton Springs Bridge has connected generations of Austinites to Barton Springs Pool, Zilker Park, music festivals, family outings, first dates, protest marches, bike rides, and summer swims. Join us on Sunday, June 21st, 2026, as we celebrate the bridge's first century, and gather the community that loves it. Morning Celebration 9:00 AM - Noon (and throughout the day) Start with a swim at the springs and then, at the Barton Springs bridge, enjoy coffee, tacos, birthday banner making, community art and sign making, and some sing alongs. We invite artists and photographers to spend the day, or part of it, painting and photographing the bridge and its beautiful Barton Creek environs. Neighbors, historians, swimmers, cyclists, advocates, and park lovers are all invited to honor one of Austin's most beloved landmarks. We'll be admiring and teaching the amazing history of this leading feature of the Zilker Park National Register Historic District and how you can help us save the bridge for another century throughout the day. Bring your family, your friends, your memories, and your best birthday wishes! Evening Celebration 5 - 9 PM Return for an evening of music, stories, and community featuring Bill Oliver and the Otter Space Band, along with bridge history and opportunities to help us save this historic treasure from demolition and replacement with a much larger highway-style bridge. There will be plenty of time to visit, listen, learn, and celebrate beneath the arches that have framed a century of Austin life. For 100 years, the Barton Springs Bridge has stood watch over Barton Creek while millions of people pass above, below, and through the heart of Zilker Park. Hidden from many drivers are the views that have made the bridge one of Austin's most beautiful and admired, photographed, painted, paddled-under, and beloved places. The Barton Springs Bridge has carried Austin across Barton Creek for 100 years. Come help us celebrate the first hundred, and help ensure it's here for the next hundred. Tell Local Leaders: Save the Bridge This year's celebration comes at a pivotal moment. Just last week, Preservation Texas named the Barton Springs Bridge one of Texas's Most Endangered Places for 2026, recognizing its historic significance and the threat posed by plans to replace it. The Barton Springs Bridge was recognized for its engineering significance, historic integrity, and central role in Austin's cultural landscape. Designed by pioneering Texas engineer Terrell Bartlett and completed in 1926, the open-spandrel reinforced concrete arch bridge stands strong today, safe for drivers, pedestrians, paddlers, cyclists, and Zilker Eagle train riders. Please start today in helping us save the historic Barton Springs Bridge by signing this online petition directed to our Mayor, City Council members, and other key officials urging them to restore the bridge and maintain it -- which city documents show can be done for millions of dollars less than tearing the bridge down and replacing it with a new bridge twice as wide. This proposed massive demolition and reconstruction project would do real damage to Barton Creek aquatic and riparian habitats, Zilker Park, the historic Umlauf Sculpture Garden home, art studio, and hillside, and to the Vara Daniel archeological district that encompasses the site. We'll keep you informed of key public meetings coming up later in the summer and fall where we hope you will attend and speak up for saving this special historic, cultural, and park treasure. Together, we can show our officials that Austin's future requires saving and honoring our parks and historic places.  Meet the 2026 Summer Outreach Interns The SOS summer interns are back :) This summer, Save Our Springs is excited to welcome a new team of outreach interns who are advancing our mission through community outreach and environmental education. The biggest part of their job? Hanging out at Barton Springs! Our interns spend the weekends at the springs, chatting with the community about aquifers, water policy, and their favorite Barton creatures (and signing folks up for our membership drive). Interns are also encouraged to create a special project for Save Our Springs, on a topic close to their heart. This year, we have topics such as data center water usage, sociological studies of the public’s perception of environmental issues, and case studies on specific SOS campaigns. From documentaries to zines, our interns are finding their own ways to connect with SOS’s mission to protect the Edwards Aquifer. Speaking about that membership drive, this is the perfect opportunity to become a member of SOS. Memberships are the best and easiest way to help Save Our Springs. When we advocate for the water, we are advocating on behalf of our members. Your membership becomes another voice to preserve our water systems, and while one voice may be overlooked, many voices can create change. A membership is as easy as a donation ($10 minimum) and a current mailing address. Not sure if you’re already a member? Renewing is just as easy with a new donation and updated contact information. Member support makes programs like our internship program possible, helping train and inspire the next generation of Central Texas conservation leaders. We invite you to meet this year's internship team at the South Gate at Barton Springs, and tell them why protecting Barton Springs is important to you. Ask them about any projects they’re working on, grab a new t-shirt, and become a member of Save Our Springs.
Read more about Lew and his amazing life protecting Roy Creek Canyon through the pen of his friend David Baker at the Watershed Association here. A Celebration of Life for Lew Adams will be held at 2pm on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at the Lakeway Activity Center, 105 Cross Creek in Lakeway, Texas. We hope you'll join us in the coming days and weeks in person. Celebrate a bridge that has carried Austin for 100 years. Meet our interns and share why Barton Springs matters to you. Remember the people who helped protect the Hill Country that are no longer with us.
If you've been meaning to get more involved, this is your invitation. We'll see you at the springs. In Solidarity, SOS Alliance  Save Our Springs is excited to announce the beginning of the 2026 summer internship program! Every summer, Save Our Springs brings on a small team of college interns for our outreach programs. This internship is pretty competitive; this spring, we had nearly 50 qualified applicants and only 6 slots. Some of the most passionate young environmentalists in Austin apply for this, and we are happy to nurture that passion! Over the next few months, these students will spend their weekends at Barton Springs engaging with the public. They had extensive training on our waterways, and they have more opportunities for growth and learning throughout the summer, such as speaking at public meetings or going on salamander field trips. Many of these interns are creating their own outreach or advocacy projects, such as zines, reports, or documentaries, to connect even more deeply with Barton Springs. We look forward to seeing what they accomplish this summer, and invite you to get to know them below!
 Reclaimed water line photo by Jeffrey Parkinson In This Story… • The best strategy to make reclaimed water use more economic and widespread is to build lines to the largest customers. About 10% of Austin’s total water in 2023 was consumed by 3 microchip factories and 30 large commercial/multifamily customers near existing and proposed lines to these factories. • Microchip factories, which require ultrapure water, have successfully used reclaimed water in both the U.S. and Singapore. Turning Purple to Green In 2023, about 7% of Austin’s wastewater was purified and resold as reclaimed water. If all of the remaining wastewater in Austin could be treated to a high-quality standard and reused, it would supply the needs of an additional 764,000 people at 2023 per capita level of consumption. The impediment to expanding Austin’s reclaimed water system is not potential. It is cost. It is expensive to lay a completely new purple-pipe network to a section of the utility service territory. Austin’s reclaimed system is in fact subsidized by the ratepayers, and is not considered a profit maker. The question of economics for the system to operate at less cost, or even make a profit, revolves around finding enough customers in a designated area to justify expansion. Austin’s Mysterious Reclaimed Water Footprint The current and future footprint for Austin’s reclaimed water system is somewhat mysterious to people who do not work for the utility. The publicly-available map of the system showing the areas where current service exists and future service is intended has not been updated since 2015. This author’s attempts to obtain more current maps were met with frustration. This gap in public information makes it difficult for conservationists, journalists, and members of the general public to responsibly analyze potential expansion of the reclaimed system. In order to come up with a scenario that makes economic sense required overlaying the dated 2015 map of reclaimed water lines with the reclaimed system’s current customers and overlaying it again with Austin’s largest customers. This allows some estimates of system expansion to be made. In the scenario below, Austin’s largest Industrial customers become magnet destination points, with some of the City’s largest Commercial and Multifamily customers located near the pipelines between the wastewater plants and the destination points. Industrial Magnets  Nattapol_Sritongcom/Shutterstock.com Microchip wafer fabrication plants are ravenously thirsty. Austin has four of them: Samsung in Northeast Austin; two operated by NXP (one in East Austin, and one in Southwest Austin); and one operated by Cypress Semiconductor (now owned by Infineon) in Southeast Austin near Bergstrom Airport. In 2023, the 3 fabs near existing or planned reclaimed water lines collectively used 3.2 billion gallons, 7.2% of total Austin consumption, enough for 70,000 people at Austin’s 2023 level of consumption. Two of the fabs, NXP-East and Cypress, are within one-third of a mile of existing reclaimed water lines. Samsung, Austin’s single largest water user, has a proposed reclaimed water line running directly behind its location.  How much reclaimed water these companies can use is uncertain. Chip factories require ultrapure water, so pure that they must upgrade potable water supplied by the utility to a much higher standard. How much more money would be required to upgrade reclaimed water to this same ultrapure standard is unknown. The three corporations contacted for this article would not comment, and Austin Water has done no investigations of the potential. However, in Singapore, reclaimed water is provided to wafer fabs as a premium product. It is also supplied to Intel’s manufacturing facilities in Chandler, AZ. So there is obviously precedent for its use. In 2023, Austin’s reclaimed water was sold to Austin customers at a 35% discount compared to industrial rates for potable water. This provides financial incentive for investigation of its potential to provide some or most consumption at these plants. Serving Customers Along the Way In 2023, 16 of Austin’s largest Commercial customers were close to existing or planned reclaimed water lines. The biggest consumer was the Tesla manufacturing plant off of Highway 130 in East Austin. Other larger commercial customers include: the City of Austin district chilling stations; Data Foundry (a data storage center); Applied Materials (a microchip and electronics display engineering company); and downtown office buildings and hotels. The large commercial customers located within a mile of existing or planned reclaimed water lines consumed about 900 million gallons in 2023, about 1.9% of Austin’s total consumption, enough for 19,500 people at Austin’s 2023 level of consumption. Apartment complexes also often use huge volumes of water for landscapes. In 2023, there were 14 multifamily consumers located within a mile of these water lines that consumed 406 million gallons, about 1% of Austin’s total consumption, enough for 9,000 people at Austin’s 2023 level of consumption.  The proposed 12-mile reclaimed water line expansion (red) to the Samsung wafer fab (orange) has several large Commercial (green) or Multifamily (black) customers on the route. Existing reclaimed water lines are shown in black.  Map of two of Austin’s wafer fabs (orange) near existing reclaimed water lines and other large Commercial (green) and Multifamily (black) customers. Proposed line expansion is shown in red and existing reclaimed water lines are shown in black. It takes years to build out a system like the one described here. By the time a megadrought hits our region, it will be too late to implement this as an emergency strategy. A very public discussion needs to take place now to determine its feasibility. Among the things discussed is why the utility, with all of its personnel talent and brain power, has waited for environmental advocates to make this proposal. This article is the second of a two-part series on Reclaimed Water. CLICK HERE for Part One of the series.
Paul Robbins is an environmental activist and consumer advocate living in Austin. He has been Editor of the Austin Environmental Directory, a sourcebook of green issues, products, services, and organizations, since 1995.  In This Issue:
Stop the City Council From Paving Over the Dog’s Head Speak Out Against Items 38, 39, and 60 on 5/21 Agenda The proposed Dog’s Head Development Agreement (DA) affects 2,614 acres of land on the shores of one of the most pristine and biodiverse sections of the Colorado River, the free-flowing stretch renowned for its exceptional water quality and relatively limited urban development. Despite the ecological significance of this area, the City Manager has put forward an agreement that includes virtually no meaningful environmental protections, while offering the developer property and sales tax breaks. This deal was negotiated behind closed doors, with no public input or oversight, bypassing review by the Planning Commission, Environmental Commission, or any other relevant board. The draft of the agreement was quietly posted late Friday afternoon, giving the public minimal time to review it ahead of a City Council vote scheduled for Thursday. If approved, the Development Agreement is irreversible and will govern development of the area for the next 45 years. Help demand these items be postponed and sent to the Boards and Commission for review! Here are some of the known problems:
TAKE ACTION TODAY Email City Council (or sign up to speak HERE) and demand that the City Council POSTPONE Items 38, 39, and 60, send them through the boards and commissions process, especially the Environmental Commission. If this were truly a good deal for Austin, it can withhold public review. 20260521-038, Agenda Backup: Draft Agreement, PDF, 1.2 MB, posted 5/15/2026 20260521-038, Agenda Backup: Exhibits, PDF, 7.7 MB, posted 5/15/2026 20260521-038, Agenda Backup: Recommendation for Action, PDF, 121 KB, posted 5/15/2026 This item must be postponed immediately and sent through the Environmental Commission and full public review process before Council takes any action. Please spread the word, and speak out before Thursday’s vote. Austin’s Rain to River Plan Adoption Provides Sharp Contrast to Dog’s Head Paving PlanItem 45 on the Austin City Council’s Thursday agenda calls for adoption of the City Watershed Protection Department’s Rain to River Strategic Plan. SOS wholeheartedly supports the Rain to River plan. We hope the City Council will not only vote to adopt it but use it and follow it. If it did, Endeavor’s Dog’s Head deal would not be on the table. The cognitive dissonance could scarcely be greater. Here’s one key part of the Watershed Department’s plan: “What We Will Do: We’re committed to making our environmental and drainage standards clear, consistent, and enforceable. By improving how we work together and share expectations, we will reduce uncertainty while holding projects accountable for meeting watershed protection goals. This work prioritizes transparency and responsibility so that development supports the health, safety, and resilience of our community.” Imagine a world where the City Council actually followed through on these same commitments. Alas, the Council’s moral and environmental compass is either lost, broken, sold, or discarded. And yet, here it is!! Hiding in plain sight. Thank you to all of the Watershed Protection staff and community members who put such hard, thoughtful work into this process. City Council Commits to Fossil Fuels Behind Closed DoorsFor Item 7 on the 5/21 Council Meeting, Austin Energy will be attempting to get the City Council to vote on potentially a billion-dollars worth of investment in natural gas peakers, behind closed doors, in Executive Session. Our friends at Public Citizen and other environmental organizations are speaking out, and we wanted to make sure to share the information. In an obvious attempt to bypass transparency and public oversight on a decision that would result in a de facto abandonment of the City’s carbon-free by 2035 goal, this closed-door meeting allows the City and Austin Energy to negotiate directly with unnamed companies for unspecified quantities of gas turbines, without going through a competitive purchasing process. Under the Energy Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan to 2035 (2035 Plan), Austin Energy is required to issue an RFP to openly evaluate all available power generation, including renewable energy and battery storage. Importantly, Austin Energy must test whether carbon-free sources can meet the same reliability needs before pursuing gas peakers. Yet, without publishing the results of the RFP or any of the alternative generation analysis, Austin Energy now seeks Council approval for closed-door negotiations to pursue natural gas peakers. This abrupt reversal of requiring a transparent and competitive process by Austin Energy undermines the cornerstone of the 2035 Plan: “Community collaboration fosters transparency.” What is at stake is Austin’s climate future. Natural gas peakers (even new and more efficient models) are an environmentally harmful solution, as they perpetuate reliance on fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to climate change. Adding more peakers to the grid will only result in more emissions. And because natural gas peakers typically operate during periods of high demand, their emissions align with times of peak air pollution, exacerbating environmental and public health issues. Tell City Council and Austin Energy to follow the 2035 Plan and focus on carbon-free options already available instead of rushing into buying gas peakers without giving the clean energy path an opportunity to succeed. TAKE ACTION Speak at City Council this Thursday, May 21stWhere: Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street, Council Chambers When: Meeting begins at 10:00 AM; AGAINST Agenda Item 7 (Regular Meeting) (Sign up to speak online HERE before noon on Wednesday or at City Hall before 8 am on Thursday). Sign Up to Speak at Council Help Shape the Future of Texas WaterTexas Water Development Board Is Planning for Massive Groundwater ExpansionThe Draft 2027 State Water Plan lays out a future shaped by massive groundwater pumping, new pipelines, desalination plants, aquifer storage schemes, and explosive demand from sprawling development and data centers. State officials are projecting nearly $174 billion in future water infrastructure needs, and rural Texas aquifers are squarely in the crosshairs. The Texas Water Development Board is accepting public comment right now, and this may be one of the few opportunities ordinary Texans have to get concerns on the record before these projects move from paper to reality. If you care about your well, our creeks, our springs, our wildlife, or the future of water in Texas, now is the time to speak while it can still make a difference. Bring Your Voice to the Water BoardAttend the public hearing on May 27, submit comments before May 29, and tell state officials that Texas water is not an unlimited commodity to be pumped, piped, and sold off without consequence. The people driving these projects are counting on silence, fatigue, and the assumption that nobody is paying attention. Let’s show them we are paying attention. Public Hearing on the Draft 2027 State Water Plan May 27, 2026, 1:00 PM Stephen F Austin Bldg, 1700 N Congress Ave or virtually via Teams Meeting (Meeting ID: 280 904 566 316 4; Passcode: fp9Lk2bs. Audio access only: 512-298-6360; phone conference ID: 508 590 523#) Written comments accepted through May 29, 2026 Make Your Voice Heard There's rumbles of big storms gathering across Central Texas, with forecasts showing anywhere from 2-6 inches of rain over the next week. After years of drought, heat, and watching our springs struggle, we welcome it. Let’s hope it comes in sheets, sinks deep into the ground, fills our creeks, and cools the soil and trees. And while the skies open up, we need people to show up too. This week’s City Council agenda contains decisions with consequences that would last generations. If you can attend, speak, write Council, or help spread the word, now is the time. Public pressure and presence matters, and we've seen it make a difference time and again. In Solidarity, SOS Alliance In This Issue:
 Austin City Council Gives Nod of Approval to New Economic Incentive Agreements, Including Data Centers and AI CompaniesAt their May 7th City Council meeting, the Austin City Council voted (on consent) to approve a resolution that aims to reignite tax incentive agreements to attract businesses to Austin. Sponsored by Kirk Watson (M), Chito Vela (D4), Ryan Alter (D5), and Zo Qadri (D9), the original draft of the resolution praised “enterprise AI and data infrastructure” as an “explosive growth sector” fueled by venture capital. No, this isn’t April Fools Day. The draft of their proposed policy can be read here. Their proposed resolution displays a concerning disconnect from ongoing national, state, and local conversations about the well-documented strain data centers are putting on our water, air, and quality of life. It also ignores the recommendations put forth by the Austin Environmental Commission. Just over a month ago, on April 1, 2026 (ironically, actually ON April Fools Day), the Environmental Commission issued a recommendation to the City Council to adopt policies that prioritize sustainability and environmental protection in managing data centers. This included a moratorium on new data centers within Austin city limits—and specifically included a recommendation to prohibit the use of tax incentives to recruit these facilities. After people noticed the data-center praising language hidden in a separately linked “Exhibit A” to the resolution, the community reacted strongly in opposition. Austinites highlighted the environmental impacts of data centers, along with the troubling intersections between AI, surveillance, and the defense industry. Before the council vote, the resolution was amended to remove explicit references to identification of the “target industries.” But, this change was superficial at best. The revised language does little to walk back the original intent of incentivizing data centers and fails to explicitly rule out the use of taxpayer dollars to recruit them. The City Council should heed the advice of its Environmental Commission and follow up with a resolution adopting their recommendations. The Council’s failure to act on them signals a troubling willingness to compromise Austin’s environmental policies in favor of corporate welfare. Speaking of corporate welfare—the decision also opens the door to a larger question: Should Austin return to the practice of issuing economic incentive agreements to recruit businesses to Austin? Prior councils wisely shifted focus away from corporate welfare for large businesses in favor of supporting local workforce development and supporting local businesses and residents. By offering tax breaks and incentives to attract billionaire-backed corporations like data centers, the city risks exacerbating Austin's affordability crisis, giving away our water for resource extraction, and eroding the quality of life for its residents. Instead of chasing industries that contribute to environmental degradation and rising costs of living, Austin should double down on policies that promote sustainability, equity, and support for local businesses. The Environmental Commission has already provided a roadmap; it's up to the Council to follow it.  More than 8,000 public comments slammed into CTRMA’s MoPac South expansion scheme before the May 3rd deadline, the largest response we’ve ever seen for a single public comment period for this project. Thank you to every single person who took the time to speak up for Barton Springs, the Edwards Aquifer, our parks, wildlife, neighborhoods, and Austin’s future. The message was loud and clear: Austinites are tired of billion-dollar highway boondoggles masquerading as transportation solutions while our water, trees, and public lands are put on the chopping block. This fight is far from over. Now CTRMA has to publicly post -- and respond to -- every single comment submitted. Their staff will eventually make a recommendation on how to proceed, likely sometime in fall 2026. Between now and then, we intend to keep the pressure on with a second wave of advocacy, continued oversight, organizing, and public scrutiny. We are incredibly grateful to the powerhouse team of scientists, engineers, biologists, arborists, and transportation experts who helped dismantle the deeply flawed Draft Environmental Assessment piece by piece:
What about the TPIA lawsuit? Our Texas Public Information Act lawsuit is already producing results. CTRMA is now cooperating and has stated they intend to provide the records and attachments we requested. We are waiting for them to fully come through on that commitment, and we expect another update within the next week. Transparency matters. Especially when billions of bond dollars and irreplaceable environmental resources are on the line. Help SOS Keep the Pressure On Your donation helps pay for independent science, legal action, expert review, public education, records requests, and the relentless watchdog work needed to protect Barton Springs, the Edwards Aquifer, Zilker Park, and Austin’s future from a disastrous highway expansion project that should never have made it this far. Please chip in today and help us fund the next phase of this fight. Hays County: Speak Up Against Darden Hill Road Extension
If approved, it would turn Darden Hill Rd. into a segment in the broader “Dripping Springs Bypass,” diverting US 290 highway traffic from RM 1826 to the western side of Dripping Springs and paving the way for increased development in extremely environmentally sensitive areas. Local opposition is growing. Nearly 500 residents have already signed a petition organized by the group at savedardenhill.com, voicing concerns about safety, noise, and environmental impacts. If you want to learn more or make your voice heard, there’s an important meeting on May 20th at 6pm, Twisted X Brewing (23455 W RR 150, Dripping Springs, TX) hosted by County Judge Ruben Becerra, who is stepping in to help address community concerns.
SOS guest writer and water watchdog, Paul Robbins, takes us into the tried-and-true possibilities of reclaimed water, what other drought-stricken regions are doing right, and how those practices might be understood, adapted, and emulated here in Austin. Thank you for staying engaged with our current work, from highways to data center industry to purple pipes and back again. We know it’s a lot, and we appreciate you taking the time to be in it with us. Meanwhile, the spring weather is spring-ing, and we hope you’re finding time outside; on the greenbelt, at the springs, or doing cartwheels into your favorite patch of wildflowers.
We’re glad you’re here. In Solidarity, SOS Alliance  Purple pipe supply line at Austin Bergstrom International Airport • Photo by Paul Robbins In This Story… • Reclaimed water is wastewater treated to a high standard and reused for both potable and non-potable purposes. Some states and cities have made tremendous efforts to use this resource. • Nevada, Arizona, and Florida reclaim at least 50% of their wastewater. San Antonio reclaims 17% of its wastewater. The El Paso water utility is building the first direct wastewater-to-tap water treatment plant in the country. • Austin, which considers itself a leader in water conservation, reclaimed less than 7% of its water in 2023. If all of Austin’s remaining wastewater in 2023 were reclaimed to drinking water standards, it would provide for 764,000 more people. A recently published story on water supply in Central Texas explained that acute water shortages could afflict our region in as little as 15 years. New approaches to protecting water supplies are no longer a luxury. They are a prerequisite. In addition to demand-side conservation and replacing old water pipes, another valuable strategy is reclaimed water. In several states in the U.S., it is quite common to treat large percentages of wastewater as a resource. In the arid state of Nevada, 85% of its wastewater is reclaimed. In Florida, it is 55%. Significant percentages of wastewater are also reclaimed in: Arizona, 52%; California, 22%; and New Mexico, 18%. Often the water is used directly in a dedicated reclaimed water utility constructed with purple pipe, so that it is not mistaken for potable water (drinking-water) pipes. Reclaimed water is used for landscape irrigation, cooling towers for air conditioning in large buildings and electric power plants, industrial manufacturing, and toilet flushing. Other times, water is upgraded to an even higher standard, and used to replenish reservoirs and aquifers. It is also used for crop irrigation. And a trend is beginning to use advanced water treatment technology to upgrade wastewater directly into potable water, with some of the first plants of this kind in the U.S. being built in water-scarce regions of Texas. The Texas Leaders Though Texas only recycles about 4% of its wastewater, the state is planning to obtain 14% of its new water supplies from reclaimed water by 2070. Some Texas cities have emerged as national leaders in reclaimed water use. • Big Spring – The spring for which this West Texas city was christened was never big by modern standards. Even when it was a watering hole for Comanche and Apache Indians, its average daily flow would have only satisfied about 500 Austin-sized homes in 2023. Due to growth from settlers and railroads, the spring went dry in the mid-1920s. This parched city’s water utility built a plant converting its treated and chlorinated sewage to drinking water via microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet-light/hydrogen peroxide disinfection. When commissioned in 2013, the plant was the first of its kind in the U.S., and provided 40% of the city’s water supply. The utility typically mixes this water with a different raw water source to reduce the stigma associated with direct use of sewage. However, it provided undiluted water directly to consumers during a drought in 2014-2015. • El Paso – El Paso has three different kinds of reclaimed water production. 1. Beginning in 1963, its purple pipe utility provided non-potable water for landscapes, cooling towers, street sweeping, fire protection, building construction, and industrial processes. The system reused about 8% of its 2023 wastewater production. 2. Since 1985, wastewater upgraded to drinking water standards has been used to help recharge the Hueco Wells Aquifer, which provides 38% of the city’s total water supply. 3. In 2025, the city began construction of the 10 million gallon per day Pure Water Center that will purify wastewater to drinking water, which will go online in 2028. Its four-step process includes reverse osmosis, followed by an ultraviolet light/hydrogen peroxide disinfection process, followed by carbon-filtration, and finally completed with chlorination. Unlike the Big Spring plant, it is intended for direct use without dilution from other water sources (another first in the U.S.), and it will process six times as much water. • Wichita Falls – Since 2017, this city on the Oklahoma border has directed highly treated wastewater to Lake Arrowhead 17 miles away. The mixture of raw and reclaimed water is then retreated to potable standards. • San Antonio – San Antonio’s water utility began its reclaimed water system in 1999. It provides non-potable water to commercial buildings, industries, and CPS Energy power plants for cooling. In 2024, about 5% of its wastewater was used by individual customers, and 12% was used for power production. The Austin Experience To date, Austin Water has not invested as much attention and money in reclaimed water as other utilities with higher-achieving systems. Austin began using reclaimed water in 1974, when it began to irrigate a golf course with it. It was also sold as cooling water to Austin Energy’s Sandhill Power Plant in Southeast Austin. Austin’s reclaimed water line mileage has doubled between 2011 and 2023, when the system reached about 70 miles in length. (This compares to the drinking water system over 3,900 miles long.) If not reclaimed, this treated wastewater would otherwise flow back to the Colorado River. In 2023, about 3.3% of Austin’s wastewater was reclaimed for uses including cooling towers for Austin’s district chilling system, landscaping, and non-potable uses at the Mueller Airport redevelopment and Austin’s Bergstrom Airport. Another 3.3% was used in the wastewater treatment process. If all of the remaining wastewater in Austin could be treated to a high-quality standard and reused, it would supply the needs of an additional 764,000 people at Austin’s 2023 per capita level of consumption. This would be equivalent to 67% of the population in Austin Water’s service territory in that year. If you believe Austin should expand reclaimed water use as a central water supply strategy, write in and let local water policymakers know this matters today. Use the form letter link below to contact the Water and Wastewater Commission and the Water Forward Task Force to encourage smarter, more responsible water management. Paul Robbins is an environmental activist and consumer advocate living in Austin. He has been Editor of the Austin Environmental Directory, a sourcebook of green issues, products, services, and organizations, since 1995. NEXT WEEK: Part 2 – The Economics of Reclaimed Water in Austin In This Issue:
 Illustration courtesy of Wall Street Journal This Thursday, May 7th, the Austin City Council will vote on Item 24, a resolution that opens the door to economic incentives for data centers and the artificial intelligence industry. We need you at City Hall! The resolution establishes a “new economic development framework” that names “Data Management & Artificial Intelligence” as one of the ten Target Economic Sectors in Exhibit A, which calls it an “explosive growth sector: three of Austin's four largest-ever venture funding rounds closed in 2025; enterprise AI and data infrastructure.” If Council passes Item 24 on Thursday, here is what it actually does:
On April 1, 2026, Austin's Environmental Commission voted 10-0 to adopt Recommendation 20260401-004, urging the City Council to take a coordinated, protective approach to data center development in Central Texas. Among other things, the Commission asked Council to:
This resolution will pave the way for tax breaks and other incentives for data centers that drink hundreds of thousands of gallons of water a day and pull as much electricity as small cities. This Thursday, we need you at City Hall. Speak for the springs, the grid, and the water. Here's How to Show Up! 1. Speak at City Council on Thursday, May 7 Where: Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street, Council Chambers When: Meeting begins at 10:00 AM; AGAINST Agenda Item #24 (Regular Meeting) (Sign up to speak online before noon on Wednesday or at City Hall before 8 am on Thursday). Speaker Form Here. 2. Spread the Word - Send this email to your friends and neighbors that care about Austin’s water and are concerned about the proliferation of data centers locally  Speak Up for Our Historic Barton Springs Bridge at Austin Environmental Commission Tomorrow The Austin Environmental Commission will hear a briefing on the proposed demolition and replacement of our historic Barton Springs Bridge tomorrow, Wednesday, evening at 6:00 P.M, at the City's Permitting and Development Center, Room 1405, 6310 WILHELMINA DELCO DRIVE. To register to speak remotely (on Item 2), sign up before noon today by contacting Nicole Corona (512-974-3146), [email protected]. You may sign up to speak in person at the meeting, before it starts. City staff and contractors continue to say the bridge cannot be repaired, but their own reports show the bridge can be saved for tens of millions of dollars less than tearing it down and replacing it with a giant highway bridge that, if built, will pave Zilker Park land and tear up Barton Creek and riparian habitats. Go to Austin Free Press here for the overview. The Commission will also discuss, and hear comments, on the proposed 6 to 8 lane expansion of MoPac South. That is Agenda Item 4.
 Austin Singing Resistance along with local activists come together at Barton Springs for song circle and to submit final comments against MoPac South expansion A Massive Outcry Against Proposed MoPac Expansion -- THANK YOU!
The Austin community flipped the script for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, who claims that its 8.77-mile expansion, with an additional 6-8 lanes over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, will have “no significant impact” on Austin’s environment. More than 6,000 comments were filed through the Better Mopac Coalition advocacy page, with thousands more submitted directly to CTRMA. The home stretch brought a massive wave of support and joyful resistance. On Sunday, nearly a hundred people gathered at Barton Springs Pool with songs and education led by Singing Resistance Austin, Jade Fusco, Mary Olivar, Matt Dietrichson, and others. It was a strong, spirited close to a 75-day sprint of collective action, grounded in shared purpose and place. What’s Next? While the official public comment on CTRMA's draft Environmental Assessment closed at midnight Sunday, the CTRMA Board of Directors will not decide on its next steps until after its staff has prepared responses to public comments and made a recommendation. That will likely be in late summer or this fall. Between now and then, please stay engaged with us and the Better MoPac Coalition and watch for opportunities to speak up. In the short term, we will share expert reports and summary comments from SOS and the Better MoPac Coalition. More updates to come as the process moves forward. Stay tuned! In Solidarity and Gratitude, SOS Alliance |
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