The City of Austin-LCRA Water Partnership Stakeholder Committee will provide the opportunity for meaningful public input and discussion at key junctures in the planning and decision-making process related to water demand and water supply decisions affecting Austin and the Lower Colorado River basin. Meetings will be held approximately once a quarter, and meeting agendas and minutes will be posted on this site under Committee Meetings under Related Links to the right of this page.

City of Austin - LCRA Water Partnership

The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and Austin have finalized an agreement to work together to plan a long-term water supply for the City of Austin - up to 250,000 acre-feet of additional water through 2100. A formal, collaborative framework called the Water Partnership has been established, under which LCRA and Austin will work together to assess opportunities to manage water supplies to meet the needs of this region. The Water Partnership will evaluate the appropriate timing and amount of water supply Austin will need based on demand projections. The Water Partnership will also evaluate various water supply alternatives to meet Austin's future water demand and present recommendations to the Austin City Council and LCRA Board for approval.

Related Links

• City of Austin-LCRA Water Partnership

• LCRA

• Supplemental Water Supply Agreement

• Executive Summary of the Agreement

• LCRA’s Water Partnership website

• Committee Meetings

Water Partnership Stakeholder Committee

In recognition of the importance of public input, LCRA and Austin have committed to a process designed to consider stakeholder and other customer concerns as part of the water supply planning process. A 15-member Stakeholder Committee composed of diverse interests and backgrounds will spearhead this effort and provide the vehicle for public input to be considered. The Stakeholder Committee will make recommendations to the Executive Management Committee (EMC), the guiding entity of the Partnership. The EMC is composed of two senior staff members from both the City and LCRA who will include Stakeholder Committee recommendations in presentations to the LCRA Board and Austin City Council. City and LCRA advisory boards and commissions, as well as the regional water planning group (Region K), will also be notified of Water Partnership decisions and activities.

Background

The Supplemental Water Supply Agreement (SWSA) that became effective on November 14, 2007 established a formal Water Partnership between the City of Austin (City) and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). Approval of the supplemental water supply agreement confirms the settlement of a long-standing dispute over water returned to the Colorado River from the City of Austin's wastewater treatment facilities. In this Partnership the two entities set out a collaborative process to evaluate water supply alternatives, to meet future needs and discuss other water-related issues that affect both parties. The settlement agreement was approved in June 2007 and allows Austin and LCRA to share the water returned to the Colorado River and provides for environmental flow needs in the Lower Colorado River and Matagorda Bay. To implement the settlement agreement, additional water rights authorizations may be needed from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

For more information about LCRA and the Supplemental Water Supply Agreement please follow the links on the right of this page.