Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock came together July 13 to celebrate their partnership as members of the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority.
The BCRUA recently completed the first of a three-phase project to bring Lake Travis water to the neighboring communities. Water began flowing to Cedar Park on June 27 and to Leander one day later. Round Rock won't begin receiving water from the project until at least 2014.
Representatives from the three communities met July 13 at the BCRUA regional plant in Cedar Park to recognize the partnership. Leander Mayor Chris Fielder, Cedar Park Councilman Mitch Fuller and Round Rock Councilman George White each praised the $131 million project for finishing on time and $40 million under budget.
For more information about the project, read the July 2012 Community Impact Newspaper Cedar Park/Leander edition.
Joe Lanane’s career is rooted in community journalism, having worked for a variety of Midwest-area publications before landing south of the Mason-Dixon line in 2011 as the Stillwater News-Press news editor. He arrived at Community Impact Newspaper in 2012, gaining experience as editor of the company’s second-oldest publication in Leander/Cedar Park. He eventually became Central Austin editor, covering City Hall and the urban core of the city.
Lanane leveraged that experience to become Austin managing editor in 2016. He managed eight Central Texas editions from Georgetown to San Marcos. Working from company headquarters, Lanane also became heavily involved in enacting corporate-wide editorial improvements. In 2017, Lanane was promoted to executive editor, overseeing editorial operations throughout the company. The Illinois native received his bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University and his journalism master’s degree from Ball State University.