Austin Water seeks feedback from the public on new water supply strategy

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Tuesday, Austin Water will host the first of three workshops this week to outline its Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project. 

It's a new water supply strategy that would allow the public utility to store stormwater in a natural aquifer that would be available for later use when the water is needed. 

It's a key supply strategy in an overarching plan to address risks due to drought and climate change in Central Texas. 

This ASR project is part of Austin City Council’s Water Forward plan, which was approved in 2018 after lake levels hit all-time lows in both Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan. 

This project provides a roadmap for the future of Austin's water over the next 100 years. 

“Early work on our ASR project had indicated that the Trinity and Carrizo Wilcox aquifers and Bastrop, Lee and Travis County have the best potential for an ASR project," said Helen Gerlach, ASR project manager with Austin Water. "So we will be hosting one each of those in-person community workshops in those communities in Bastrop, Lee and Travis County to hopefully get input from those communities on the Project Options.” 

Although Austin Water is still in the early phase of implementing this ASR project, it said community feedback is critical in order to make major decisions on where it begins building this aquifer. 

The first workshop will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Giddings Public Library. There'll be another meeting Wednesday in Bastrop, followed by a workshop Thursday in Austin.