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Austin Water is conducting a pilot program for commercial customers that will allow them to water according to a calculated water budget rather than the assigned watering schedule.
This graph shows Austin's current daily water usage in million gallons per day (MGD). One trigger for Stage 2 Water Restrictions is usage that reaches 270 MGD for one day or 260 MGD for three consecutive days.
Block Leaders are a vital link between Austin Water’s conservation efforts and your community. By sharing information on water and water conservation programs and rebates, you help Austin conserve a valued resource: clean, reliable water.
The AWU Center for Environmental Research at the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant is a partnership formed in 1989 with the University of Texas and Texas A&M University to support urban ecology and sustainability studies for Austin.
The Water Partnership, a collaborative effort by the City of Austin and Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), works to assess water use, implement water conservation strategies and ensure water quality for Austin and the surrounding area.
The Austin Water Utility has conducted a comprehensive study to update and improve its methods for determining fair and defensible rates for its services.
The Austin Water Utility Cross Connection/Water Protection Program administers local, state and federal regulation compliance to protect health and safety of the public water supply. Our program works to prevent cross connections by ensuring safeguards are in place to protect the public water system from contamination hazards. We also work to prevent unauthorized use or damage to fire hydrants to ensure constant fire suppression capabilities.
Each year, thousands of tons of biosolids are anaerobically digested and composted with yard trimmings into an EPA-certified soil conditioner called Dillo Dirt. This product is donated to landscape public places and sold to commercial vendors for sale.
The City’s approved receiving station for hauled liquid wastes is the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant located at 7113 East Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd (FM 969).
Austin Water is committed to serving clean, high-quality drinking water to the people of Austin today and well into the future. Learn more about how we preserve the quality of your water, and discover more about the tap water that permeates your life.
To file a claim with the City of Austin, you should send a letter addressed to: City of Austin Law Department P.O. Box 1546 Austin, TX 78767-1546
This is a comprehensive list of contact information for Austin Water services.
Our Industrial Waste Pretreatment Program ensures that local, state and federal regulations are met regarding the quality of wastewater discharged into the City’s wastewater system. Area businesses are required to install, operate and adequately maintain pretreatment devices and/or systems to remove pollutants that could otherwise damage or obstruct the wastewater collection system or interfere with the wastewater treatment process.
Enero 2012 a Diciembre 2012
View the Annual Drinking Water Quality Report in English.
Este informe anual sobre la calidad del agua potable provee información del agua potable en Austin. La Agencia para la Protección Ambiental de los Estados Unidos (EPA, por sus siglas en inglés) exige que todos los proveedores de agua potable en el país suministren anualmente un informe de la calidad del agua.
Free Irrigation System Evaluations You may schedule a free Irrigation System Evaluation if you are a customer of Austin Water or a qualifying water provider, have an in-ground sprinkler system, and use more than 15,000 gallons of water per month in the summer. A licensed irrigator from Austin Water will check your system and help you determine an efficient watering schedule. They will also recommend equipment upgrades if needed.
As a collaborative partnership with Austin Water, the Joint Committee will assist in developing recommendations for short-term and long-term financial plans to strengthen the financial stability of Austin Water Utility.
Liquid waste haulers must pay disposal fees in advance to Austin Water Utility to pay for liquid waste loads discharged at the city-approved receiving station. Austin Water Utility establishes accounts that customers can use for their entire fleets that the receiving station can draw from to pay for discharged liquid waste.
Austin Water Utility regulates all liquid waste transportation in the city limits to protect public health, safety, and water quality. Liquid waste can include sewage, water treatment sludge, grit, and grease waste. Proper liquid waste disposal protects the wastewater collection system and reduces sanitary sewer overflows caused by waste buildup.
Austin Water Utility requires that all waste collected in, transported through, or disposed of in the city limits must be logged with manifest/trip ticket forms. The purpose is to provide complete documentation from collection point to receiving station to assure waste is collected, transported, and disposed of legally and properly.
Regardless of where waste is ultimately disposed, Austin Water Utility must permit and inspect all companies collecting, transporting, or disposing liquid waste in the city limits. Anyone disposing liquid waste must use one of these permitted liquid waste haulers.
A clean environment while serving food is good for your customers and your community. Waste water from your mobile food business must be disposed of properly to avoid clogging sewer lines or polluting the environment. Even on the go, there is much you can do to protect the environment and avoid fines.
Installing a properly fitted swimming pool cover can reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation, decrease the amount of debris in the pool, and help lower pool maintenance costs.
Qualifying Austin Water residential customers can receive a rebate for 50 percent of the purchase price up to:
- $50 for a new manual pool cover or solar rings; or
- $200 for a new permanent, mechanical pool cover.
The rebate is limited to one pool cover per customer, per service address.
Wastewater surcharges are charged to businesses that discharge wastewater exceeding “normal” wastewater standards. Business wastewater can be more heavily concentrated with solids and organic matter than residential wastewater, making it more expensive to treat.
Private Lateral Program, Utility Development Services Division
Austin Water recently launched “Renewing Austin” a five-year program to upgrade aging water lines and to keep pace with the infrastructure demands of a growing city.
Commercial customers who currently pay a wastewater surcharge may request that their business be resampled and their surcharge reassessed. The wastewater surcharge only applies to permitted businesses discharging extra-strength wastewater.
Austin Water implemented Drought Response Stage 2 Regulations on September 4, 2012, in response to combined storage in lakes Travis and Buchanan reaching the 900,000 acre-foot trigger outlined in the Drought Contingency Plan
The City of Austin Water Utility through investigation, testing, and usage has identified various products that have established satisfactory performance records. Those products that relate to construction of water and wastewater facilities are listed by manufacturer on Standard Products Lists issued by the Utility and updated quarterly.
In limited situations, Austin Water may be able to grant a variance from the watering schedule. Please click on the links to find more information about an available variance; detailed instructions, and the variance application. All variance requests must be made on the provided application. Please note that applicants must follow the watering schedule in effect until a variance is approved.
The wastewater averaging cycle that determines wastewater charges begins November 15, 2012. This averaging cycle, which will continued until mid-March 2013, determines wastewater rates for the 2012-2013 service year. Austin Water Utility conducts wastewater averaging for three months in the late fall and winter months because less outdoor water is used during this time; this better determines the actual indoor wastewater amounts that are returned to the wastewater system.
The Federal Clean Water Act regulates discharges into the U.S. surface water bodies such as streams, lakes and estuaries. All plants discharging treated effluent into surface waters of the U.S. are required to obtain a permit that regulates the quantity and quality of their discharges. In 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency delegated the oversight of this program in Texas to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
The City of Austin Water Utility is responsible for managing the City's water resources, including operating and maintaining the water and wastewater treatment and distribution systems.
Austin Water updates the Water and Wastewater Impact Fee Land Use Assumptions and Impact Fee Capital Improvements Plan every 5 years.
City of Austin - Water and Wastewater Impact Fee 2012 Update Process is underway:
Update Information, Questions and Answers
Click above link to view questions and answers and/or submit questions to our staff questions concerning Water and Wastewater Impact Fees and the 2012 Update.
Lowering our water use ensures clean water for future generations, reduces the electricity required for water and wastewater services, and decreases the need and expense for water infrastructure.
Find more information here about water conservation planning, policy, and research, including water conservation best practices, the City's drought contingency and water conservation plans, and conservation strategies.
Here is Water Conservation Task Force meeting and strategy information from 2006-2007.
Water Quality Reports for Major Industrial Users and Consumers. Monthly and Quarterly Summaries of water quality parameters in finished drinking water..
Reclaimed water is recycled from wastewater generated by homes and businesses and treated for virtually any use not requiring higher-quality drinking water, including irrigation, cooling towers, industrial uses, and toilet flushing. Using reclaimed water protects the drinking water supply, recycles water, and saves money.
The Austin Water Utility and our paying customers are victims of millions of gallons of water annually stolen from fire hydrants.
Water Treatment Plant 4 (WTP4), is an important investment in Austin’s future. With a rapid rise in population comes increased demand for clean water; doing nothing, this increased demand will tax an aging water infrastructure. WTP4 will add capacity and reliability, ensuring that Austinites enjoy safe and reliable water service for future generations.
The City of Austin recently adopted a new ordinance, Ordinance No. 20121011-005 with an effective date of Oct. 22, 2012. This ordinance (now Chapter 15-12 of the Austin City Code) includes registration requirements that apply in conjunction with the drilling of water wells, the installation of water well pumps and other closely related activities.
Save water, save money, and add convenience with a new timer for your hose-end sprinkler.
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