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BASTROP — City leaders pushed back against Austin Water last week over the terms required to access information on a controversial aquifer storage project proposed in Bastrop County.
Council members July 8 expressed frustration with a draft memorandum of understanding presented by Austin Water. The agreement, required to obtain technical data about the project, would have restricted Bastrop from opposing the plan until after field testing was complete.
“Wouldn’t you want to do this in good faith? We wouldn’t have to sign anything with y’all. You’d give it to us,” Councilwoman Cynthia Meyer said. “This is blackmail — that’s not right — and that’s not how we operate in Bastrop.”
The council took no action on the memorandum, which remains under revision by Austin Water. Officials said they expect to present a final version to Bastrop in October. Austin’s aquifer storage and recovery plan is part of a long-term water supply strategy. It would allow the city to store treated water underground in the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer during periods of high river flow, then retrieve it for use during droughts or shortages.
City Manager Sylvia Carrillo- Trevino said Bastrop currently relies on the Simsboro Aquifer, but future development in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction could increase local reliance on the Carrizo- Wilcox — already a vital resource for much of the county.
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“In order for us to be considered a stakeholder or a partner and be eligible for information, there are certain things in here that we must agree to,” Carrillo-Trevino said. “It doesn’t say we have to support the project, but it does say that we will be recipients of data and we won’t spread quote-unquote false rumors.”
Austin Water officials said the project has been under study since 2021 and follows similar aquifer storage models used in Kerrville, San Antonio and El Paso.
“For stakeholders and for our city leaders, making the most of our existing supplies — such as storing excess water in aquifers — has been a guiding principle and a good neighbor approach,” said Marisa Flores Gonzalez, water resources program supervisor for Austin Water. “Our forecasting tells us we must take action in order to meet future water supply needs, and we’re working to do this in a thoughtful way that can supply benefits to our region as a whole.”
Carrillo-Trevino acknowledged that aquifer storage has worked in other cities but said Bastrop’s situation requires closer scrutiny.
“There are too many unknowns I can’t answer,” she said. “I don’t want the city of Bastrop beholden to anybody for its water. We are in charge of our own future.”
Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland presided over the meeting while Mayor Ishmael Harris — a longtime Austin Water employee — recused himself.
“The city of Austin can also take this feedback: It’s like 100% to zero in opposition among our town,” Kirkland said.
State Rep. Stan Gerdes, R-Smithville, introduced a bill earlier this year to halt the project. The measure passed the Texas House but died on the Senate floor.
