AUSTIN, Texas —
Water scarcity is a reality as population growth in Austin and around the state continues, putting a strain on existing water supplies.
Austin Water customers are projected to increase from the current population of 1.1 million to 1.5 million by 2040.
State leaders and water experts have said if action isn’t taken to ensure future water supplies, the area runs the risk of running out of water.
On Thursday, the Austin City Council took action and approved an updated Water Forward 2024, the city’s water plan for the next 100 years.
Council members also passed revisions to the city’s Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan. Those revisions include new drought stage watering restrictions, stricter conservation goals and water loss control.
The city is currently under stage two watering restrictions, which mandates only once-a-week watering for automatic sprinklers and hose end sprinklers.
Previously, drip irrigation had been allowed in all drought stages except an emergency stage. Under the new plan, drip irrigation is exempt for vegetable gardens and a drip line under a tree canopy.
However under the new plan, stage two only allows for drip irrigation at home twice a week. Commercial customers, schools, HOAs and golf course fairways can also use drip irrigation twice a week under stage two.
Watering schedules can be found here.
Last week, KVUE told you about the changes that also include lowering the amount of water loss per person.
Austin Water did not meet 2024 goals for water use and water loss for a variety of reasons: growth of customers, extreme weather and pandemic impacts.
The five-year average for water use per person in 2024 is 127 gallons a day. The new goal for 2029 is 121 gallons per person a day.
The five-year average for water loss per person is 21 gallons in 2024. The goal is to reduce that to 19 gallons per person a day.
Before the vote, some community members voiced their opposition.
“Austin Water is placing a lot of stock on costly and invasive water supply and storage projects that will ultimately overburden us with rising utility rates ... Which I believe is a disingenuous attempt to avoid accountability," Tanzia Karim with Save Our Spring Alliance said. "With the hundreds of thousands of customers, their failure in conservation is evident through their severely low engagement numbers, which can be found in the water conservation plan. These numbers should be a wake-up call for the utility department to deeply reflect on its outdated and effective approaches."
“The Water Forward plan proposes costly infrastructure projects, such as the aquifer storage and recovery additional water treatment plant, which will likely result in significant rate hikes for Austin water customers," Monica Guzman with Vamos Austin said. "And if we're gonna ... if they're going to increase the rates, then there needs to be some sort of relief."
But Austin Water Director Shay Ralls Roalson said the utility spent months engaging with the community.
“This effort also incorporated a community ambassador cohort to provide broader participation from historically underrepresented communities in the plan's equity and affordability roadmap," Roalson told the council. "Austin Water has facilitated extensive community engagement to develop Water Forward as a plan that is inclusive and reflects our community's values."
All three plans went into effect on Thursday.