Austin Water

Maintaining and operating the Longhorn Dam, built in 1960, has occasionally proved challenging for the City of Austin.

Austin Water hired consultants to look at how the city combats water loss and to offer new solutions. Meanwhile, the amount of water it loses keeps going up.

Austin Water is asking customers to refrain from outdoor watering, power washing and washing cars while the repair is done. It is also urging residents in the area to turn off irrigation systems and postpone doing laundry or dishes.

Austin City Council promised to revisit its water plans after members of an key advisory panel said they were not ambitious enough.

Austin is struggling with drought. But members of a key advisory board say the city's water utility could do more to conserve.

The announcement of water conservation rules amid the worst Austin drought in over a century appeared to have no impact on water use, according to data.

Austin Energy and Austin Water officials said equipment, pipes and utility plants have been weatherized to better handle winter. Communication strategies have also been improved so staff can better talk with each other and update the public.

The typical resident will pay $172 more this year. The increases are coming on the heels of inflation hikes on most goods, including groceries and gas.

The waterline break released chlorinated water into the creek. The city initially reported 30 fish were found dead, but later increased that count to 300. The cause of the break is unknown, but it has been repaired.

An estimated one-third of the city’s tree canopy was damaged to varying extents during last month's ice storm.