Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water And Wastewater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Leander utilities update: lakes near 92% full; August peak day use about 19.7M gallons; two projects add ~7M gpd capacity
Summary
City staff reported combined Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan storage at roughly 92% of capacity, August peak production of about 19.68 million gallons per day, and that upcoming Sandy Creek and BCRUA capacity additions will add roughly 7 million gallons per day of treatment capacity.
City utilities staff reported to the council on Sept. 18 that combined storage in Lakes Travis and Buchanan is roughly 92 percent of capacity following wetter conditions earlier in the year; inflows for August were reported around 23,000 acre‑feet (about half the historical average for the month), and basin soil‑moisture conditions remained improved versus the previous year.
Water usage and connections Staff said peak day production in August occurred on Aug. 12 and reached roughly 19.68 million gallons; the month’s average day was about 17.6 million gallons, compared to about 16 million the prior year. The utilities director reported about a 4.6 percent increase in active connections year‑over‑year—approximately 1,400–1,500 new connections added in the past year.
Capacity additions Two major water projects—Sandy Creek (city facility) and a BCRUA (Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority) phase—are nearing completion. Together they will add about 7 million gallons per day of treatment capacity once commissioning and required startup testing are complete; staff said one plant is in final commissioning and the other has a 30‑day start‑up testing window before being considered fully online.
Drought and outlook Staff noted that while inflows and lake levels declined through August (a typical seasonal pattern), the basin remained out of drought at the time of the report and October historically brings more rainfall. The city will continue to monitor soil moisture and lake inflows and adjust conservation messaging if conditions change.
