New Water Treatment Plant Is a Boondoggle

Dear Editor,
    Katherine Gregor’s article on the Austin Water Utility and Austin environmental advocacy groups doesn’t mention the enormous cost to ratepayers of the utility’s proposed new water treatment plant – $1 billion [“Ending the Water War,” News, Sept. 11]. That’s about $1,250 per Austinite, even if we use less water in the future through conservation and efficiency.
    The Austin water utility won’t acknowledge that our current treatment capacity can accommodate 10 years of population growth at today’s water-use levels. With additional conservation efforts, we can maximize our existing water system for years longer and save ratepayers $14 million every year we delay the billion-dollar boondoggle.
    Instead of focusing on conservation – the cheapest source of water – the water utility wants to dig Austin ratepayers into a 30-year debt hole of ever-increasing water rates to pay off the proposed treatment plant. The debt will eat up bonding capacity, hindering funding to replace old pipes, purchase critical watershed protection lands, and become the most water-efficient city in Texas.
    If we commit to the billion-dollar boondoggle and succeed in using less water, the utility will collect less revenue from selling less water. How will we pay off our debt to Wall Street? By raising water rates even higher than planned.
    In the past, San Antonio used more water than Austin per capita. Today, San Antonio uses 23% less water per capita than Austin. If Austin catches up with San Antonio in water conservation, we could add more than 325,000 people to our water system without expanding water use one gallon. Conservation can save ratepayers billions of dollars in reduced water and sewage treatment and pumping costs.
    Let’s get serious about conserving water. It’s the cheapest source, it’s readily available, and it’s the right thing to do. We can save water, save money, embrace sustainability, and avoid boondoggles.