AUSTIN – Austin Water customers in the Southwest area of the City are urged to conserve water and limit non-essential water use beginning Friday, June 7, while the utility repairs a major water line near the Davis Lane pump station. A leaking 48-inch waterline must be temporarily taken out of service, which may cause low water pressure and service disruptions. While customers may not experience any impacts, Austin Water is notifying the community out of an abundance of caution so that customers can have water for essential uses on hand, should a service disruption occur. The repair is estimated to last up to 12 hours but may exceed this timeframe, depending on field conditions.
Austin Water repair crews and contractors have already begun prepping the site and are committed to restoring the line as quickly as possible. Austin Water’s southwest reservoirs are being filled to capacity before the repair work starts. While the pipeline is out of service, Austin Water will have limited ability to refill area reservoirs. To assist in maintaining water pressure, all affected area customers are asked to limit water use during the repair. Residents and businesses can help during this repair by limiting consumption to only essential water use. This includes refraining from outdoor watering, power washing, and washing cars; turning off irrigation systems; and postponing washing clothes and dishes.
Austin Water will offer free cases of bottled water at a location convenient to customers in the affected area beginning on Friday morning at 7:00 a.m. Customer notifications about specific water pick-up locations will go out later this week. Austin Water also urges customers to store water for essential uses, 1 gallon per person per day, no later than Thursday, June 6, by filling containers in advance of repair work. Customers can refer to the affected area map or interactive map at austinwater.org to determine if their address is in the affected area and for detailed location-specific information during the repair. This work will also impact three of Austin Water’s wholesale customers: Shady Hollow, High Valley Water Supply Corporation, and Mid-Tex Utility.
“Inspecting, maintaining, and repairing thousands of miles of pipe is a routine occurrence for Austin Water, but any situation that may degrade service to our customers for more than a couple of hours triggers our incident response plan,” Austin Water Director, Shay Ralls Roalson said. “While I’m confident that our team will complete the needed repair as efficiently as possible, Austin Water is committed to implementing a well-planned incident response to mitigate any extended customer service issues.” Roalson has directed her management team to take a proactive and aggressive stance in advance of the repair. The Austin Water incident management team is engaged and will be activated in advance of the repair.
A vital part of the plan also includes informing customers about this work and ongoing notices and updates. Communications with area residents and businesses, especially medical facilities and vulnerable customers, have begun and will continue through My ATX Water portal messaging, emails, phone calls, and Next Door notifications.
“We are monitoring the Southwest Austin water main repair progress and are ready to support the needs of Austinites in the affected area as we ask them to help us conserve,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said. “Looking to the future, City Council has approved new contracts for additional water storage and transmission for South Austin. When complete, those projects will improve system resiliency for situations such as this one.”
Customers with service concerns or questions may contact Austin Water’s 24/7 Customer Service Contact Center at 512-972-1000 and select option 1 for immediate assistance.
About Austin Water
Austin Water provides safe, reliable, high quality, sustainable and affordable water services that have met the community’s needs for over 100 years. Austin Water services over 1 million people in the Austin metropolitan area across more than 548 square miles.