Austin City Council approved today key elements of Austin Water’s GoPurple program, which is projected to save a combined 16 million gallons of drinking water per day by 2040 through reclaimed water and onsite water reuse. Key elements of GoPurple include water sustainability code changes, program incentives, and funding mechanisms to support foundational aspects of Austin Water’s Water Forward initiative.

Water Forward comprises partnerships, water supply, conservation, and reuse strategies. Specifically, Austin Water partners with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to assess water use and water quality locally and for the region. GoPurple strengthens these strategic investments to expand reclaimed water infrastructure so that stormwater, air conditioning condensate, and other used water can be collected, treated, and increasingly repurposed for flushing toilets, watering landscaping and other non-drinking water purposes.

By name, GoPurple hints at the water industry color-coding system for pipe infrastructure, where purple pipes signify treated reclaimed water that’s ready to be used for non-potable needs. More than the color scheme, this program addresses generational and long-lasting affordability to Austin Water’s customers by avoiding an estimated $10 million in potential Lower Colorado River Authority annual water-use fees.

“Austin Water built on the City’s foundational partnership with LCRA that began during my initial tenure as Austin’s City Manager. I’m proud to see this One City, One Water approach that keeps affordability in mind while advancing our water supply strategies,” said Interim City Manager Jesùs Garza.
 

“Every drop of cheaper reclaimed water that we use for maintaining landscaping and flushing toilets keeps precious drinking water from spiraling down the drain,” Austin Water director, Shay Ralls Roalson says. “With today’s support from Council, we can advance key strategies from our Water Forward plan, which is critical given the drought we are experiencing now and climate impacts to our water supply in the future.”

Roalson said that Austin Water’s 1999 water supply agreement with LCRA was secured with an initial reservation fee and includes annual water-use fees when Austin exceeds 201,000 acre-feet of water consumption for two consecutive years. By utilizing more reclaimed water for non-drinking water needs, Austin can avoid triggering those water use fees—an estimated savings of $10 million annually.

“For the past 25 years, Austin has been on the cutting edge of water conservation, sustainability, and environmental protection,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said. “Austin Water’s GoPurple Program reinforces our visionary leadership in those areas once again.”

Code changes that are part of GoPurple mainly affect larger developments greater than 250,000 square feet. Projects of that size built within 500 feet of the City’s purple-pipe reclaimed water infrastructure must connect to it or install an onsite water reuse system. Properties accredited for Affordability Unlocked or State Low Income Housing Tax Credit are exempt from the adopted requirement. All developments are required to implement water benchmarking to assess water use and identify conservation opportunities.

GoPurple also includes strategies for development projects to meet these new requirements affordably. These strategies call for expanding the current incentives to promote water efficiency and conservation. Other measures include reduced monthly fixed charges, expedited building permit review process, low-interest loans, cost sharing, and Travis County-administered PACE assessments and financing.

“I really appreciate all the efforts to propose options as we build out this much-needed infrastructure,” Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool, who also chairs the Austin Water Oversight Committee, said. “Balancing the benefit of achieving Water Forward’s conservation and reuse goals with the cost of implementation are two sides of the same coin. Benefits and costs are connected, and we’ll come up short if we undermine either side.”

To fund GoPurple, an additional community benefit charge of $0.15 per thousand gallons has been approved by the Austin City Council. This equates to approximately $1.47 for the average residential customer; however, the GoPurple charge does not apply to Customer Assistance Program (CAP) customers. A voluntary rate program, Purple Choice and Purple Choice+, will be established for residential and commercial customers who want to support reclaimed system expansion and programs. Additional programming is being explored for future consideration to apply excess usage fees when potable water allotments exceed benchmarking.

About Austin Water
Austin Water provides safe, reliable, high quality, sustainable and affordable water services that have met the community’s needs for over 100 years. Austin Water serves over 1 million people in the Austin metropolitan area across more than 548 square miles.