Tagged: Austin Water

In an eco-friendly city like Austin, you’d think reclaimed water systems for the home would be a no-brainer. Instead, the entire city has only one fully licensed greywater system. But that could soon change.

Greywater systems (or graywater, or grey water – there’s no universally accepted spelling) take used water from sinks, showers and washing machines and funnel it to uses like landscaping instead of sending it down the drain. (Greywater doesn’t include toilet water.)

Update: On Thursday, Austin Water announced the water boil order is lifted for customers along Parmer Lane between Legendary Drive and Sage Grouse Drive along East McNeil Road from Parmer Lane to Howard Lane.

According to the city, all lab tests on water quality have come back normal. The break that caused the water boil order has been repaired. 

Austin Water Utility crews have shut off water in the area of a broken fire hydrant. So water is no longer gushing out.

The utility tweeted this picture of the damaged hydrant this morning.

The normally burnt orange University of Texas campus is looking a little more purple.

Today, campus and city officials celebrated the completion of a project that installed purple pipes on campus. The university is estimating these pipes, connected to Austin Water’s reclaimed water system, will save the campus 70 million gallons of drinking water annually.

Austin Water is still working with the fire department to extinguish an ongoing compost fire at the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Plant.

The fire started at the waste management facility more than two weeks ago, on Monday, Feb. 25. While water utility officials have seen a reduction of smoke from the smoldering heaps – especially with help from a rainy weekend – the surrounding area still smells.