Watson (Water) Wire: Wanting for and Wasting Not

Seems that 47 years of a guilty conscience finally caught up with Bob of Flushing, Michigan. So, in a recent letter to me, Bob admitted that he and his wife absconded with an item that belonged to the people of Austin back in 1976.

“We took a souvenir, and now we’re returning it,” Bob wrote. “We are hopeful that the statute of limitations on liberating Water Works property has run out.”

As for those outstanding UT parking tickets from the same time, Bob is less concerned: “Can you please tell the campus safety office that we’re not yet so repentant that we’ll pay those two parking tickets?”

By the power vested in me by the ratepayers of the Austin Water Utility, I absolve you, Bob. But you’re on your own with UT.

Time to Conserve

Austin is no stranger to hot, dry summers, but the extreme heat and lack of rain we’ve seen this summer means we all need be very mindful about our water use. We expect that the water storage in the Highland Lakes, the reservoirs that are the source of Austin’s drinking water, will soon reach about 45% of capacity, which is a critical level that’s triggering the next stage of the City’s Drought Contingency Plan.

What this means for you is that beginning Tuesday, August 15, the City of Austin’s Stage Two watering restrictions will be in effect and enforced. These restrictions include:

• Automatic irrigation and hose-end watering is restricted to one day per week.
• Automatic irrigation runtime is reduced by 3 hours with cutoff at 5 a.m. instead of 8 a.m.
• Water waste is prohibited.
• Restaurants may serve water only upon request.
• Charity car washes are prohibited, and home car washing must use an auto-shut-off valve or a bucket.
• Patio misters at commercial properties, including restaurants and bars, may operate only between 4 p.m. and midnight.
• Large ornamental fountains can no longer be operated.
• New landscape-establishment irrigation is no longer exempt from the watering schedule.

Saving for a Non-Rainy Day

Sustaining an essential lifesource should motivate us both individually and as a city looking to our future.

During my first time as mayor, we negotiated a long-term water supply contract with the Lower Colorado River Authority. It was an important deal for us and something we count on today. When I was in the Texas Senate, I worked with the LCRA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to update the LCRA’s water management plan to better assure conservation and that there is water to meet the terms of the water agreement.

Importantly, following the historic drought Central Texas experienced from 2008-2016, Austin Water, with the assistance of lots of community experts and input, developed the Water Forward Plan, a 100-year integrated water resource plan focused on ensuring a sustainable and resilient water supply.

?The plan recommended a robust set of strategies to manage our supply including things like expanding the purple pipe system that uses treated, reclaimed water for the purpose of irrigation, cooling towers, and other uses not related to requiring higher-quality drinking water. The plan also recommended an aquifer storage and recovery project, which is a strategy that would store water in a natural aquifer during wet times for later recovery and use. It’s an ambitious project but will be a critical part in securing water for generations to come.

?This scorching, almost unbearable weather reminds us daily of the need to think about and prepare for tomorrow.