Austin News

AUSTIN, TX – The City of Austin Watershed Protection Department announces the release of its 2023 Annual Report, available online now. The report emphasizes the department’s commitment to protecting lives, property, and the environment of the Austin community by reducing the impact of flooding, erosion, and water pollution. Highlights include:  Flooding: Crews cleaned 76,748 feet of storm drain pipeline (that’s like driving from the Broken Spoke to the Domain) and installed or replaced 10,131 feet of storm drain infrastructure (that’s the length of 33 UT Towers). 

 Erosion: Crews stabilized 7,174 feet of unstable stream channel (that’s about 191 MetroBuses lined up end to end).  Water Quality: The Liberty Park Water Quality Pond Retrofits project prevented 7,900 pounds of pollution from entering the Barton Creek watershed (that’s nearly the same weight as 253,000 Mexican free-tailed bats). "Watershed Protection’s core mission is to keep our community safe,” said Jorge Morales, Watershed Protection Department Director. “I’m proud to serve as the department director as we tackle the new challenges that climate change brings. We look forward to serving our community in 2024.” Review the full report at Austintexas.gov/Watershed/2023. Residents can stay up to date on the department’s work in 2024 by following Watershed Protection on Facebook and X.   

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About Watershed Protection  

The City of Austin Watershed Protection Department protects lives, property and the environment of our community by reducing the impact of flood, erosion and water pollution. Visit AustinTexas.gov/Watershed to learn more.  

Original source can be found here.