Drought Drying Up Lake Travis, Holiday Plans

Environmental, Business Leaders Call on Austin City Council to Get Serious about Water Conservation

AUSTIN – With central Texas suffering from one of the worst droughts in a century, lake levels at Lake Travis and spring flows at Barton Springs have fallen to alarming levels, causing many Texans to rethink their 4th of July weekend plans.  A group of environmental advocates and small business owners called on the Austin City Council to protect Lake Travis and Barton Springs by significantly increasing investments in water conservation.

“Lake Travis and Barton Springs are critical waterways for central Texas. They provide us with clean, safe water to drink and beautiful places to escape the demands of the city and let our children play and swim,” said Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger. “If we want these treasures to be around for future generations, it’s time for Austin to get serious about water conservation.”

Lake Travis is currently 38 feet below full levels, which has led to the closure of 11 of the twelve boat ramps on the lake. Mansfield Dam Park has only 2 of its 4 lanes open.  LCRA has issued an alert that the last 2 lanes might be closed by Sunday, thus eliminating public access to the lake. Flows from the Edwards Aquifer to Barton Springs are now in a ‘critical stage drought’. These water shortages are endangering Austin’s water supply, causing serious harm to wildlife, and drying up recreational opportunities and businesses.

Pete Clark, owner of the Carlos & Charlies restaurant on Lake Travis pointed out that low lake levels has hurt his business, forcing him to significantly downsize his staff. “Austin’s conservation can not only save water but it will save jobs as well,” said Clark.  
    
Pointing to documents prepared by the Austin Water Utility and other Texas utilities, the groups expressed frustration at the city’s lackluster efforts to promote water conservation. The Texas Water Development Board encourages cities to set goals of using no more than 140 gallons of water per capita per day (gpcd). According to city conservation plans, Austin has seen modest reductions in per capita use, going from 185 gallons per capita per day (gpcd) in 2005 to 177.5 gpcd in 2009. Per capita water use is projected to continue to drop to 166.8 gpcd in 2014, but AWU projects that per capita water usage will remain essentially flat for the following five years.  Meanwhile, the city of San Antonio has already managed to achieve a water usage of 136 gpcd despite a larger population and continued growth over the last twenty years. San Antonio’s success is due in part to an intensive (commercial and residential) toilet replacement program, overall rebate system, pricing structure, and educational awareness. 

The groups called on the city of Austin to take the lead in water conservation and drought management for the Austin metro region, by increasing funding for water conservation programs by at least one-third. Additional funding could support additional leak detection programs, replacing old shower heads and toilets with new models that use less water, audits of household and industrial water use; landscaping audit and incentive programs; incentives for rainwater harvesting and public education. 

“By increasing funding and standards for water conservation, we can guarantee our water supply for the future and avoid the need for an expensive new treatment plant,” said Bill Bunch, Executive Director of the Save Our Springs Alliance. “This would save hundreds of millions of dollars by avoiding the need to expand water treatment capacity that would only be used a few days each summer when some residents and businesses use excessive amounts of water on lawns and landscapes”.