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Parks board recommends council approve permanent Austin Water line under Colorado River Park with $37,651 mitigation
Summary
After presentations by Austin Parks planners and an engineering consultant, the board unanimously recommended City Council approve a Chapter 26 permanent waterline use of about 6,327 square feet in Roy G. Guerrero/Colorado River Metro Park, with Austin Water to pay $37,651 in mitigation.
The Parks and Recreation Board voted Nov. 24 to recommend City Council approve a permanent Austin Water easement that would allow a new 36-inch waterline to be installed beneath the Colorado River in Roy G. Guerrero/Colorado River Metro Park, with $37,651 in mitigation paid by Austin Water.
Paul Books, a principal planner with Austin Parks and Recreation, presented the Chapter 26 application and said the project would involve subsurface impacts totaling about 6,327 square feet of permanent use and that Austin Water proposes to use horizontal directional drilling so there would be no tree or surface impacts within the park.
Tony Buonodono, project engineer with MWM Design Group, described the engineering and safety rationale for the replacement, saying the existing crossing is exposed and near the end of its life. "The existing line ... is 74 years old, and exposed," Buonodono said, arguing the replacement will improve system reliability for customers.
The plan calls for a 36-inch line installed by horizontal directional drilling with depths ranging approximately from 12 to 25 feet, abandonment of portions under parkland to avoid disturbance, and removal of portions in TxDOT right of way per that agency's request. The presentation said staff evaluated alternatives (including hanging a line from the historic bridge) and determined drilling under the river was the least impactful option.
A board member questioned the appraisal brackets used to calculate mitigation (the presentation listed 010% and 1125 ranges); Books said the project is a very small subsurface use (under roughly 6,000 square feet) and that staff and transportation teams confirmed no impacts to planned trails, so the lower bracket was used to set mitigation.
Board member Villalobos moved to recommend council approval; Becker seconded and the board approved the recommendation unanimously. The board recorded the mitigation amount as $37,651 to be paid by Austin Water.
