EcoBits Feb.19th – Feb. 26th, 2015: Water Spotlight, Record Drought, and Earth Day

[Earth Day] The Austin Earth Day Festival 2015 is coming to the historic “Browning Hangar” at Mueller on Saturday, April 18th and is currently booking exhibitors.  Featuring fun, interactive attractions, hands-on demonstrations, kid’s activities galore, a diversity of exhibitors, outdoor activities and more, the festival brings together people from all parts of the Austin community for an engaging and inspiring day. Learn more about becoming an Earth Day exhibitor here>>

 


LCRA announced this week that we have officially surpassed the drought of record.[Water] You know that 1950s drought of record everyone is always talking about? Turns out, we've surpassed it. During a meeting on Wednesday, LCRA announced that preliminary data from 2014 shows that the current drought gripping the Highland Lakes (aka Austin's water supply) is now the most severe drought the region has experienced since the lakes were built in the 1930s,surpassing the 1947-57 drought that until now was the worst on record.


The good news is, despite the record drought, the lakes are actually still above their all time lows, largely due to water conservation efforts by LCRA customers, like the City of Austin.

Learn more about LCRA's newly released 2014 data here>>
 


Water experts met in Austin last week.[Water] Water experts gathered in Austin last week for the 5th Annual Central Texas Water Conservation Symposium, where they talked about successful water conservation programs from throughout the country. In a story for KXAN, reporter Rosie Newberry noted that the experts talked a lot about using new home construction to increase water conservation efforts in Austin. They said that construction crews can mulch extra lumber to fertilize grass and that new homeowners can use the natural shaping of their own yards to properly place and grow rain gardens


But, the article also noted that developers will not incorporate these water conservation measures into their designs unless consumers ask for them, once again making the case for increased public education efforts. In other words, if Austinites do not know how dire the drought is, or what they can do to help, no changes will be made. You can read the entire KXAN article here>>
 


Check out these informational videos from Austin Water.[Water] To help reduce your own personal water use, Austin 

Water has created five new informational videos to teach you how to make your outdoor irrigation system as efficient as possible. Watch them all to learn how to adjust your water pressure, change sprinkler nozzles, and redirect sprinkler heads, all of which can save you water and money. Watch the videos here>>
 


The City of Austin is changing its stormwater drainage fees.[Water] The City of Austin is currently revising its stormwater drainage charge, in order to make it more "reasonable and equitable," according to a press release from the City. The drainage charge is assessed on utility bills and pays for solutions to flooding, erosion and water pollution. Currently the residential charge is a flat rate, and the commercial charge is based on the amount of impervious area on the property. 

Impervious areas include parking lots, roofs, and driveways that do not absorb water during rainfall. This contributes to stormwater runoff, erosion, flooding, and water pollution. To learn more about the problems associated with impervious cover,check out this great video from Austin Water >>

The stormwater revision process hopes to more accurately charge residents based on the amount of impervious cover on their properties, since that is what contributes to stormwater runoff. Under the new system, there will no longer be a distinction between commercial and residential properties.Everyone will be charged based on the amount of impervious cover on their land. 

The city is hosting a series of public meetingsabout these changes. There are two next week:

 


A controversial groundwater pumping project has been proposed for Hays County.[Water] Just outside of Austin, fights over the 

region's groundwater supplies are heating up. Hundreds of people packed into a town hall meeting in Hays County last week to discuss a large commercial groundwater pumping project that has been proposed. Houston-based Electro Purification (EP) is planning to pump more than 5 million gallons of water a day from the Trinity Aquifer and sell it to the fast-growing city of Buda. That is more water than has ever been pumped in the region, and hydrologists, along with local residents, are worried that it could have devastating effects on the wells that many in Hays County rely on. 

Despite that, the project is perfectly legal and sheds a light on the complicated nature of Texas' water laws. To learn more about the Hays County project,be sure to read this article from the Texas Tribune>>
 


A new water proposal has been made for the Decker Lake golf course project.

 

[Water] Speaking of the Trinity Aquifer, the man who wants to build PGA-level golf courses at Walter E. Long/Decker Lake is now considering tapping into this groundwater resource for his proposed project.In an article in the Austin American-Statesman, developer Warren Hayes said that after city council rejected his water conservation measures for the golf course last year, he settled on tapping into the Trinity Aquifer as another good option, since it has no impact on Austin's water supply. 

Of course, the Trinity Aquifer does supply water to Hays County, but Warren plans to tap into a portion of the aquifer that allegedly would not impact their water supplies. Rick Broun, general manager of the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, told the Statesman that Warren wants to tap into thebottom salty layer of the aquifer, which is not suitable for drinking. However, that bottom layer is 3,000 feet below ground and reaching it would require an expensive drilling operation, according to the Statesman article.


Due to the complicated nature of the project and the desire to save every drop of water that Central Texas has (whether or not it is being used for drinking water today), Warren's new proposal has been met with mixed reviews. Austin's Water and Wastewater Commission has neither endorsed nor rejected it and the new council is set to consider the proposal at its Feb. 26th meeting.

 


[Water/Promotion] Learn more about SXSLoo.

 

SWSLoo, Inc., your local, American-made manufacturer and installer of the ELoo (EnviroLoo) is proud to announce that their smallest, residential toilet unit, the R15, is in production. This unit is perfect for 3-5 people; continuous or intermittent use; requires NO water, infrastructure, electricity, or chemicals; and is low maintenance. Their customers have purchased the R15 for everything from art studios to hunting cabins to guest houses. In addition, SWSLoo has been able to source recycled plastic, which aids in their goal of being the 'greenest' toilet! Check them out at  www.swsloo.com.

 


Austin Resource Recovery's Christmas tree recycling efforts were a success.

 

[Zero Waste] Austin Resource Recovery's Christmas tree 

recycling efforts were a success! Over 2,000residents came out to the Christmas Tree Recyclingevent at Rollingwood Drive last month, and ARR was able to process nearly 3,000 holiday trees into mulch.


[Climate Change] The Office of 

Sustainability has just released data about thestatus of 10 of its sustainability targets (as of 2013). According to the Austin Monitor, the city has met or exceeded 6 of its goals and failed to meet three.

The six goals that were met include: reducing city building water use by 5 percent, increasing the amount of waste recycled at city office facilities by 5 percent, increasing the number of employees participating in wellness programs by 5 percent,planting 4,500 trees in rights of way and 3,100 trees in parks, constructing 39 miles of new bike lanes and 12.5 miles of new or reconstructed sidewalks, and ensuring that all new LEED-certified capital improvement projects comply with silver-level standards.

The three goals that the city did not meet include: reducing carbon emissions from city operations by 5 percent, reducing energy use in city buildings by 5 percent and ensuring that at least 95 percent of all new vehicles the city purchases usealternative or hybrid fuel sources

Learn more about these sustainability goals in Lucia Athens' report to City Council >>
 


[Volunteer]Volunteer with the Funky Chicken Coop. Volunteer for the 2015 Funky Chicken Coop Tour on April 4th. Volunteers are needed to help with photography, videography, and general event organizing (no special chicken knowledge necessary). Sign up here>>

 


The Austin Parks Foundation needs volunteers for It's My Park Day.[Volunteer/Parks]The Austin Parks Foundation's biggest 

city-wide volunteer eventis coming up and they need your help. It's My Park Day is March 7th and the foundation is looking for volunteers to work on one of the 84 registered park projects happening in Austin. Sign up here>>

 
a limited time, all AE customers can get a $3 discount on LED lightbulbs at select Home Depot stores in the city. LED lightbulbs use up to 90 percent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and last up to 25 times longer. The discount is being offered at the following Home Depot stores:
  • Mueller Airport, 1200 Barbara Jordan Blvd, Suite 100
  • North Austin, 10515 N. MoPac Expressway
  • Sunset Valley, 1200 Home Depot Blvd.
  • Southeast Austin, 3600 S. Interstate Highway 35
  • Slaughter Lane, 8801 S. Interstate Highway 35



Politics



City council policy briefings will continue over the next several weeks.

 

[Austin City Hall] Just a reminder! City council will be continuing on with itspolicy briefing workshops over the next several weeks. In an effort to get all of the new council members up to speed on city issues, the mayor's office is organizing 24+ of these policy briefings, covering topics ranging from public safety to healthcare. Although these are somewhat untraditional council meetings, they are still open to the public and will be streamed on ATXN.


Below are the upcoming eco-related policy briefing sessions. They are a great opportunity for you to learn more about these topics as well:

Monday, Feb 23rd

  • 9-11am Infrastructure & Capital Planning
  • 12:30-2:30pm CodeNEXT

Monday, March 2nd

  • 9-11am Resource Recovery
  • 12:30-2:30pm Austin Energy

There will be also a session on Resiliencyannounced at a later date.
 


Check out the Texas Tribune's new database of Abbott's federal court cases.

 

[State Government]During his time as Attorney General, Texas' new governor, Greg Abbott, sued the Obama administration 31 times and spent about $4.25 million doing it. That's according to the Texas Tribune, which just published an incredible database of Abbott's court cases.

Users can sort through the lawsuits by genres (including climate change, air quality, and natural resources) to see how many times Abbott sued the federal government over these issues. The database also reveals how much the lawsuits cost taxpayers, as well as their final outcomes. Here are a few highlights:

  • Air Quality – In recent years, Texas has challenged almost every major action the EPA has taken to reduce air pollution. Several of these cases resulted in major victories for Abbott and the lawsuits cost the state $851,540. 
  • Climate Change – Texas' campaign against climate change regulations have been largely unsuccessful in the courts. The federal government has won all five resolved cases. 
  • Natural Resources – Texas won the only major court case over natural resources while Abbott was attorney general. The case involved red snapper fishing season limits.

 

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