Travis County is teaming up with the City of Austin for a major environmental win, as city officials have greenlit a new plan to extend the reclaimed water initiative in downtown Austin. The city council has authorized Austin Water to enter into an interlocal agreement with Travis County to design and build expanded reclaimed water mains to service the Civil and Family Court Building on Guadalupe St. and the Probate Court Building on Eighth St., as reported by Austin Monitor.
Last Tuesday, Commissioner Brigid Shea shared her excitement with the Austin Monitor about Austin’s expanding pipeline, pointing out that the purple pipe project—so named for the purple-colored pipes used for reclaimed water—will eliminate the county's use of 45 million gallons of potable water annually and save the county money she was “thrilled” about the decision explaining that five other county buildings already use the system, and with the completion of the project, Travis County is poised to further cut down its water usage and costs.
According to the Austin Monitor, Austin Water takes highly treated wastewater and repurposes it for non-drinking uses, which reduces the demand for the city's potable water supply. Kevin Critendon, Assistant Director of Austin Water, stated that the city is already in the process of hiring engineers to design the new reclaimed water lines and expects to execute an agreement with Travis County within the next few months, with project completion in two to three years, according to Austin Monitor.
The infrastructure move is a crucial step in Austin's broader sustainability efforts, as remarked by Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool, who leads the Council's water committee. "It's a critical and timely component of our Water Forward plan," Pool said, lauding the initiative for its forward-thinking approach to managing growth, drought, and climate change the city has been tackling since 2017.
