Austin eyes Bastrop for future water needs, prompting local concerns

Martin Barbosa, senior public information specialist for Austin Water, said testing will continue through at least 2031 to allow time for research and to address any concerns before operations begin.

“[ASR] is a proven strategy used successfully in Texas,” Barbosa said. “Innovative strategies like ASR will be critical to securing the state’s water future.”

Still, the project is raising alarms in the Bastrop community—still recovering from record-low groundwater levels.

In late April, the Bastrop City Council passed a resolution expressing opposition to the project.

“It may very well be the best thing since sliced bread for everybody around, but without having the information, I am very hesitant,” Bastrop City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino said in a letter to state legislators.

What's planned?

The ASR project would capture and treat water in Austin, send it through about 50 miles of underground pipeline to Bastrop, and inject it into the aquifer during wet periods. Austin Water would then retrieve and return it to Austin as needed.

Officials began their site search in 2022, before narrowing it down to Travis, Lee or Bastrop County.

Barbosa said they chose Bastrop due to its favorable geology, proximity to infrastructure and deep aquifer storage potential.

“The city of Austin has available aquifers,” said Andres Rosales, speaking as a resident during public comment at an April 28 council meeting. Rosales serves as the Bastrop Assistant City Manager. “Why not pursue those in the area where their constituents are affected and not ours?”

Austin Water spokesperson Emlea Chanslor said the Bastrop community would benefit from the project as they plan to leave at least 5% of the water deposited in the well and will not use eminent domain. Instead, they said they will compensate affected Bastrop property owners either by leasing the land—allowing owners to stay—or by purchasing the property.

What else?

Despite assurances, the Bastrop community remains wary that the ASR project could lower groundwater levels, with concerns heightened by lingering memories of the 2023 drought, when well levels hit a nine-year low.

Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland recalled months of countywide water conservation efforts.

“That leaves an impression on people,” he said.

In response, Aqua Water Supply Corporation, a nonprofit utility based in Bastrop that serves 30,000 homes, farms, ranches and businesses, installed three monitoring wells to safeguard its water supply—100% of which is drawn from the aquifer.

Jim Totten, general manager of the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District, which ensures that local groundwater resources are protected, said community concern is understandable.

“When you inject, you just don’t know what chemical reactions will occur between native and injected water without a lot of testing,” Totten said.

Aqua WSC General Manager Dacy Cameron said they are not a formal partner in the project at this time; however, they will continue to “evaluate the available information and remain focused on the interests of members and the aquifer.”

What's next?

Chanslor said Austin Water hopes to have a memorandum of understanding in place by the end of this summer. Around that same time, she said Austin Water will begin community engagement sessions to get feedback from Bastrop residents.

The next phase is expected to begin in the fall and will include scientists taking water from the aquifer and combining it with Austin drinking water in a lab to study the reaction. Chanslor said the results will help officials design treatment processes for the next phase, which will involve injecting Austin drinking water into the aquifer and studying the results. That phase should begin around 2031.

Totten said under current state law, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is charged with the final approval.

However, Rep. Stan Gerdes, R-Smithville, introduced House Bill 1523, which aims to restrict TCEQ from authorizing the project in Bastrop. Both City Council and Carrillo-Trevino have publicly supported the bill.

As of press time, the bill was passed through the House of Representatives, gained support in the Senate and was queued for consideration by the end of the day on May 28.