Speak Up for Austin’s Water Future THIS Thursday

Oppose the Water Management Plans this Thursday!Speak up against the upcoming water management plans that will ultimately shape our water future at the City Council meeting this Thursday, November 21, at 10:00 AM. Oppose Items 3 and 4 to adopt the updated 100-Year Water Forward Plan and Water Conservation Plan, which include significant changes that concern utility customers like you! 
Three Reasons to Oppose the Plans:

1. RISING UTILITY BILLS
The Water Forward Plan proposes costly infrastructure projects, such as Aquifer Storage and Recovery and an additional water treatment plant, which will likely result in significant utility rate hikes for Austin Water customers (YOU!).

2. WEAK CONSERVATION STRATEGIES
The plans underestimate the potential of traditional and cost-effective water conservation approaches, such as robust public awareness and education programs, that have successfully achieved substantial water savings in Austin’s past. 

3. LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
The process of updating these plans has lacked sufficient clarity in justifying these large-scale projects. Additionally, there has been inadequate data explaining why customer engagement in rebate and incentive programs has been so severely low. 

Join us to hold Austin Water accountable and ensure that water management strategies reflect our community's needs. Let’s make our voices heard for a water future that prioritizes affordability, sustainability, and accountability. Contact Tanzia at [email protected] if you have any questions or need assistance! 

WHEN: Thursday, November 21, 2024, at 10:00 AM
WHERE: Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St.
WHAT: Oppose Items 3 and 4
WHO: Austin Water
HOW: Sign up HERE to speak remotely or in person 

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SOS Sues WTCPUA to Protect Barton Creek Habitat Preserve
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Last week, SOS filed a lawsuit to protect part of the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve from being condemned. The lawsuit challenges the West Travis County Public Utility Agency (WTCPUA) Board’s decision to take over 2.865 acres of this protected land. The Barton Creek Habitat Preserve is a 4,000-acre haven for wildlife, including the black-capped vireo and the endangered golden-cheeked warbler. Plus, as part of the City of Austin's water quality protection lands, the preserve helps keep the water in Barton Creek and at Barton Springs clean and flowing. The lawsuit, which you can check out here, points out that the WTCPUA didn’t follow the rules for notifying the public and considering other options that wouldn’t harm the preserve. If SOS wins, the WTCPUA will either have to keep their utility line out of the preserve or go through the Chapter 26 process again. Then, they’d need to prove that no prudent alternatives are available and that they’ve done everything they can to minimize environmental damage.

​To help protect the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve and support other conservation efforts, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. Every contribution counts and helps us continue our work to protect these precious natural resources for future generations. 

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Toll Agency Kicks Off Mopac South Public Input Charade​

Last Tuesday at the Austin High School Cafeteria our local toll road agency, the CTRMA, released their updated proposal to add 2 toll lanes each way on Mopac, from Cesar Chavez to Slaughter Lane.  The event kicked off an initial public comment period that runs through December 29th.  

While they sought to sugar coat the whole thing, a close look at the diagrams showed they are really proposing to add 6 to 7 new lanes of pavement on Mopac, not 4 lanes (2 each way).  This image shows what's proposed for the bridge over Lady Bird Lake--expanding from the 7 lanes that currently exist on the Lady Bird Lake bridge to a 13 lane bridge.  Every inch of the bridge right of way over the lake, through Zilker Park, and on top of Austin High School would be paved.  

The CTRMA dishonesty is further illustrated by their refusal to use the word "toll."  They are now "express" lanes, not toll lanes.  While pretending to "respond to public input," they are actually going in the opposite direction -- make the project bigger, more costly, and more environmentally damaging.  

Mark your calendar to attend a December 9th 5:30 p.m. community-hosted meeting on the proposed project, also set for the Austin High cafeteria.  That's the time to learn the important details, ask questions, hear from SOS and other community groups, and also hear the concerns of Austin ISD leaders and opposition of the Travis County Commissioners Court.  The project was shelved in 2015 after a community show of force against it.  We can force it back into hiding again if enough people stand up against this monstrosity.  

Together we can Keep Mopac Local -- for local commuters-- and not convert it into a western Interstate 35 with interregional and interstate car and truck traffic.  

State tuned and see us on December 9th at Austin High at 5:30.  

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Mirasol Springs Update
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The West Travis County PUA voted Monday morning to direct PUA staff to move forward with issuing a service availability letter and drafting a contract between the PUA and the Mirasol Springs developer to extend a water pipeline to the development. Members of the Board made several changes to the content of the service availability letter from the dais, and it is unclear whether those changes will be incorporated. The vote marks the first of many steps needed to extend a water pipeline to the Mirasol Springs development that is located along the Pedernales River and near the iconic Roy Creek Canyon.

While the PUA’s instructions to staff include many positive provisions for the proposed contract, SOS still opposes the extension of the pipeline without more mechanisms to protect the environmentally sensitive area including beneficial reuse of wastewater, the collection of rainwater, the capping of all groundwater wells with a ban on the construction of new wells and placing the development’s groundwater rights in a conservation easement, and a ban on pumping any water from the Pedernales River among others. SOS opposes the use of conservation easement lands for development utilities, opposes sprawl and actions that would lead to sprawl in the Hill Country, and opposes commitments of the limited water in the Colorado River basin to fueling development.