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Austin adopts Water Forward 2024 update; Watershed Protection seeks community input on Rain to River plan
Summary
Austin Water and Watershed Protection updated the commission on the Water Forward 2024 integrated 100-year water plan and the department's Rain to River strategic plan, outlining supply strategies, equity considerations and outreach to historically underserved communities.
Austin Water and the Watershed Protection Department briefed the Community Development Commission on recent water planning and watershed strategy work, including the Water Forward 2024 update and Rain to River, a new Watershed Protection strategic-planning process.
Marisa Flores Gonzalez, supervisor of the Water Resources team at Austin Water, summarized the Water Forward 2024 update, an integrated 100-year water-resource plan that considers conservation, nonpotable reuse, aquifer storage and recovery, potential off-channel storage (Lake Walter E. Long/Decker Lake) and emergency indirect potable reuse. "Water Forward is Austin's 100 Year integrated water resource plan," she said, noting that Council unanimously adopted the 2024 update in November 2024. Staff said the plan incorporates updated climate and streamflow projections and that planners considered multiple population and climate scenarios to test supply portfolios.
Flores Gonzalez described equity work that informed the update: a Community Ambassadors Group met in 2022 to develop an equity and affordability roadmap; staff used that roadmap to evaluate plan outcomes for marginalized communities. "We identified approaches to mitigate inequitable impacts" including targeted customer assistance programs, operator training grants tied to nonpotable-reuse connections, and outreach to promote access to conservation rebates among lower-income households, Flores Gonzalez said.
Erin Wood, planning manager in Watershed Protection, described Rain to River—Watershed Protection's 10-year strategic plan currently in development. Wood said the department has emphasized inclusive engagement: a web-based vision survey, targeted focus groups, a statistically valid representative survey and a paid community-ambassador cohort. She noted reports and findings from an initial engagement round are available on rangeriveratx.com and that a second, deeper round of engagement will begin in the summer of 2025 with completion anticipated in early 2026.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about conservation participation among low-income households, protections for riverbank erosion (noting East Riverside and downstream of Longhorn Dam) and whether water rates differ for commercial and residential customers. Staff answered that conservation rebate access remains a focus and that water rates vary by customer class; planners also said the city is studying erosion-hazard protections for the Colorado River corridor.
Why it matters: Austin's water planning faces climate uncertainty, lower inflows in recent years and population growth. The Water Forward portfolio prioritizes diversification and equity in supply and demand strategies to protect reliability and affordability for vulnerable residents.
Context and next steps: Staff said they will continue outreach, present task-force and ambassador findings, and return to commissions with implementation and project timelines. Watershed Protection will publish engagement reports and solicit community feedback in the next outreach phase.
Ending: Commissioners thanked staff and asked to be kept informed about funding opportunities that may arise as state-level water programs and legislation develop.
