Community groups press Austin Water Forward Task Force on equity, outreach and timelines

Community organization representatives pressed the Water Forward Task Force on how the Water Forward Plan and associated programs will be communicated to neighborhoods, how equity measures were scored and what next steps for engagement and implementation will look like.

Those who testified — several representing PODER and allied groups — said they had reviewed individual chapters of the Water Forward Plan and sought more detail on outreach, evaluation and project timelines. Valerie (project director, Colorado River Conservancy, a PODER project) asked how the report will be communicated back to the community, why diversity/equity scored low in the plan’s objective weighting and which neighborhoods were included in the plan’s surveys. She asked whether the task force would respond at the meeting or in writing; staff replied they would provide a written response and follow up at a scheduled June 27 meeting with PODER staff.

Task force staff said the city sent the survey to Austin Water customers across the utility service area, including parts of the service area that extend beyond full-purpose city limits; staff said they would follow up with more detail about jurisdictional coverage. Staff described the Water Forward Task Force and the quarterly implementation report as ongoing forums…