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Clean Water In the NewsKVUE - 2009-07-02
Groups call on Austin to do more to conserve water (new window)
With Lake
Travis water levels at some of the lowest on record, some groups have
asked the city to increase spending to conserve water. They say the
current drought should be a warning to start conserving now to preserve
the lake’s future.
People like Lance Hadley, who is a 25-year veteran of Lake Travis, say
droughts like this are becoming rule rather than the exception.
"It used to be that the water would get this low once every three to
five years, and now it’s about once every other year if not every
year," said Hadley. Conservation groups Environment
Texas, D.E.L.T.A, and Save Our Springs met Thursday at the lake to ask
the City of Austin to increase its investment in water conservation to
preserve the future. The groups say Austin isn’t doing enough to follow
the state's guidelines. "Right now Austin uses about 26
percent more water per capita than the State of Texas recommends and 30
percent more water than the City of San Antonio uses per capita,” said
Luke Metzger, Environment Texas. The groups have asked
the city to increase their spending on water conservation by one-third
– something that new Mayor Lee Leffingwell agrees with. The increase in
spending would offer new programs and incentives for conservation.
"That would allow for more aggressive public education programs. It
would allow for audits of the largest water users and additional
incentives and rebates to help people to reduce their water usage at
home and at their businesses,” said Metzger. The LCRA
says that though things look dire right now, it's not worried about the
water running out because it has a plan. Officials look back to the
drought of record in the 1950s that lasted 10 years and say right now
they won’t sell anymore water then they would have sold back then,
regardless of population increase. Conservation groups disagree.
"Every drop of water you use is going to come out of this lake," said
Connie Ripley, Don’t Empty Lake Travis Association. "The
stress of the lake is only going to get worse. If we don’t address this
problem now we might not have a Lake Travis in the future. It’s
critical that we act now to save it," Metzger said. The
groups agree the quickest and easiest way to start fixing the problem
is to conserve at home by following the watering schedules, don't water
during the day and do what you can to conserve. |
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