Austin Water is committed to protecting the water supply and promoting community sustainability. We manage 43,000 acres of wildlands that provide multiple benefits to our region. These lands protect our water supply against waste and pollutants and help recharge the Edwards Aquifer. They are also home to countless species of plants, birds, and animals, protecting several endangered species. And we play a key role in helping researchers understand soil ecology for farming, regional biodiversity, alluvial flows through the aquifer system, and the hydrology of the Colorado River. This dedication to environmental protection is helping us preserve and protect all that is best about Austin’s unique landscape.
Conservation
- Water Conservation
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Lowering 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. Austin Water’s conservation has been ranked number one in the state of Texas among large utilities. The utility provides rebates, tools and programs to help customers save water and money.
Protection
- Special Services
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This program helps customers protect health and safety, reduce pollutants and minimize waste by promoting consistent compliance of regulations of:
- Wildland Conservation
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Austin Water manages 43,000 acres of wildlands that provide benefits to our entire community. They are not parks, but rather public lands held in trust for a specific purpose based on the mission of the program under which they are managed.
- Those managed under the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Program conserve habitat for eight endangered species and 27 species of concern.
- Those managed under the Water Quality Protection Lands Program optimize the quantity and quality of water recharging the Barton Spring segment of the Edwards Aquifer.
- Center for Environmental Research
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The Austin Water Center for Environmental Research at the Hornsby Bend 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 Center for Environmental Research sponsors events, classes, and workshops and conducts numerous research projects focused on waste recycling, ecology and hydrology.
- Hornsby Bend
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The Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant plays a key role in sustaining Austin’s environment by recycling Austin’s biosolids and yard trimmings. Recycled biosolids get mixed with compost and yard trimmings and turned into an EPA-certified soil conditioner called Dillo Dirt™. Dillo Dirt™ is donated to landscape public places and sold through commercial vendors. Hornsby Bend is also nationally known for its biodiversity, ecotourism, and one of the best birding sites in Texas. Hornsby Bend is open to the public sunrise to sunset every day of the week.