Austin Water reports Q2 2025 progress on conservation, AMI portal and reclaimed-water programs

Austin Water staff presented the utility’s quarterly implementation report for the second quarter of 2025 (April–June), updating the Water and Wastewater Commission on conservation programs, leak detection and reclaimed-water efforts and previewing near-term supply strategies.

The briefing, presented by Kevin Crittendon, assistant director, and Kevin Kluge, water conservation division manager, summarized Q2 milestones that followed City Council direction from the Water Forward plan, the Water Conservation Plan and the Drought Contingency Plan. Staff said April and May were dry and noted that program activity and outreach picked up in the spring.

Key items staff reported: - Plumbing and building code changes: On April 10 City Council approved the updated uniform plumbing code with three local amendments that include (1) additional pressure‑regulating devices on new irrigation systems, (2) a limit that new automatic irrigation systems may serve no more than 50% of a new lot’s landscape area, and (3) required plumbing to enable laundering‑to‑landscape (reuse of clothes‑washer discharge) in new homes. - Rebates and program delivery: Residential landscape rebates and other conservation rebates rose in the spring quarter; commercial rebates are fewer in number but can yield large savings. Staff cited one Bucks for Business retrofit that will save approximately 3,000,000 gallons per year over the next 10 years after fixture upgrades at an apartment complex. - Compliance programs: Mandatory commercial programs for landscape irrigation, cooling towers and vehicle wash facilities show roughly 75–90% compliance depending on program; staff said those programs produce significant savings. - Leak detection and loss reduction: Staff reported increased small‑diameter leak‑detection activity and a rise in leak alerts sent through the myATX Water portal. Staff said the leak‑index metric is the ratio of real water loss to the theoretical minimum loss and that the index fluctuates with metering improvements, reporting changes and real losses. - myATX Water portal and leak alerts: Staff said the customer portal rollout completed and about 23% of customers have registered for myATX Water. Staff emphasized that leak alerts and continuous‑usage notifications are sent to account holders even if a customer has not registered in the portal. - Reclaimed water and on‑site reuse: The Go Purple program was amended on Jan. 5 to subsidize reclaimed dual plumbing and on‑site reuse for deeply affordable housing. Staff reported three new reclaimed‑water customers added and three on‑site reuse projects received permits in Q2; three CIP reclaimed projects are in construction and one is advertised for bidders. - Supply planning: Staff described ongoing work on aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) and said community engagement in Bastrop County for the ASR project will begin in August. Staff also said consultants are developing an emergency implementation plan that would utilize indirect potable reuse (IPR) on an emergency basis.

Commissioner questions and staff responses focused on measurable outcomes and next steps. Commissioners asked for clearer metrics and timelines on reclaimed‑water projects and on the refurbished Mobile River exhibit. Staff said several implementation milestones are expected to shift in the Q3 briefing and staff will provide additional details such as project footages and expected completion time frames on CIP projects.

Commissioners also asked whether portal notifications are used for enforcement; staff said the notifications are intended as voluntary alerts and “we have no plans to utilize these notifications in enforcement.” Staff emphasized enforcement actions (warnings or citations) require a witnessed violation.

Staff said more outreach activity — including TV ads that began late in Q2 — and software development for on‑site reuse tracking will be reported in the Q3 briefing. The commission requested deeper dives on reclaimed water, on‑site reuse implementation, and a briefing on the full public communications program, including advertising approaches and registration outreach for myATX Water.