Currents SPRING 2014 | TEXAS the Clean Water Action Newsletter Protect Clean Water the U.S

texas currents SPRING 2014 | TEXAS the clean water action newsletter protect clean water The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to restore critical Clean Water Act protections for smaller streams and wetlands in Texas and nationally. These important water resources connect with rivers and serve as drinking water sources for millions of Americans. EPA’s proposal would reverse Bush Administration policies that weakened water protections in every state. One Texas example illustrates the stakes. In 2006, the Chevron Pipe Line Company was sued for spilling 126,000 gallons of oil into a dry creek. When running, this creek connects to the Brazos River, which provides drinking water for Waco and other communities. Because the creek was dry at the time of the spill — as more than 70% of Texas’ drought-plagued streams often are — the stream was deemed “unprotected” and Chevron escaped punishment. The Clean Water Act used to protect tributaries like this one from pollution, but ever more polluter- friendly policies have eroded those protections. Fixing this problem is essential to meeting the nation’s clean water goals for fishable, swimmable, drinkable water.

PROTECT EPA needs to hear from you today. Learn more and take action to CLEAN WATER #ProtectCleanWater, www.cleanwater.org/protect-clean-water

A seasonally dry portion of the Salt Fork Brazos River.

600 W. 28th Street, Suite 202, Austin, TX 78705 | Phone 512.474.2046 | www.CleanWaterAction.org/tx are texans being punished for conserving water? This is the question many are asking as water utilities call for rate increases, even as their customers’ water usage drops. Low lake levels have led many communities to limit outdoor irrigation to once a week. In Austin, per capita levels of consumption dropped from 172 gallons a few years ago to below 140 today — a goal Austin did not expect to meet till 2020. But water utilities, like electric utilities, have fixed costs that must be covered even when smarter water or electricity use cuts into revenues. This is why recent news reports, spurred by water utility staff, are blaming water conservation for water rate hikes. The reality is that in Texas and many other HIGH AND DRY: Shown above is a recent photo states, water is in increasingly short supply due to drought, climate change and population of the Pedernales River just before it reaches growth. More people are placing demands on Lake Travis (a reservoir on Texas’ Colorado a diminishing supply, and this can only drive River). The structures are stranded docks and prices up. boat houses that would “normally” float. Water conservation, easily the most cost- effective way to meet future water needs, actually helps keep water rate hikes in check. Water conservation is far less costly than procuring new water by desalination, piping water from distant aquifers, or building new reservoirs. When it comes to water, solutions for a changing climate and growing population demand sound planning and strong water conservation programs to avoid unnecessary spending. Austin faces steep rate hikes in part because its mayor and water utility forged ahead with an unnecessary drinking water plant more than a decade before it will be needed, and also because they underestimated climate impacts. They wrongly concluded that water levels in the Colorado River would rebound and that consumers would continue to use water as lavishly as they had in the past. The city will soon cut the ribbon on a billion dollar treatment plant drawing water from a reservoir that is projected to be 70% empty by August 2014. Painful rate hikes are coming, but water conservation is not the reason. Those hikes are due to climate change and bad policy that failed to plan for it.

Clean Water Fund is a member of EarthShare of Texas. One Environment. One simple way to care for it. Contact us for information on how you can support Clean Water Fund and Earth Share where you work. water-conserving landscapes catching on Texas’ worst drought since the 1950s is leaving almost every part of the state with just a fraction of average rainfall, as predicted by the latest climate science. Meanwhile, cities are expected to require more water than agriculture by 2060, due to population growth. Landscaping with native and adapted plants instead of thirsty turf grasses can stretch communities’ diminishing water resources. Clean Water Fund and Clean Water Action continue to offer “Water on the Home Front” water conservation presentations to homeowner associations (HOAs) and other community organizations. The meetings feature: • an overview of Texas’ water crisis, • expert advice on drought-tolerant landscapes, rainwater harvesting and smart, efficient irrigation systems, • presentations from municipal water conservation staff and HOA groups, and • information on HOA best practices where HOA guidelines have already embraced water conservation. Participants get to choose landscape styles best suited to their own communities. Thanks to Senate Bill 198, Texas HOAs are no longer allowed to ban drought-tolerant landscaping. With help from Clean Water Fund, dozens of HOAs in Central Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have new landscaping guidelines that encourage water efficiency while still protecting aesthetic standards. Contact your local Clean Water Action office to learn about organizing a Water on the Home Front meeting where you live.

Water Conservation Heroes

Robert Beyer of Austin’s Avery Ranch HOA plays a lead role in the “Water on the Home Front” community meetings. He is a master gardener and was instrumental in persuading Avery Ranch to amend its guidelines to allow xeriscaping. Many HOAs now have guidelines modeled on those of Avery Ranch. Beyer also offers an online resource for homeowners and professionals across the region, www.centraltexasgardening.info

George Holcombe of the Wells Branch MUD (Municipal Utility District) organized a “Water- Wise Weekend in Wells Branch” in March, partnering with Clean Water Fund and others. The festival featured speakers, information tables, children’s activities and giveaways, drawing more than 100 participants, with fifty takers for a “Water on the Home Front” meeting and tour of water-conserving yards.

Above right: Robert Beyer of Austin’s Avery Ranch HOA. Below right: Clean Water Action’s Angela Bagnasco with George Holcombe at the “Water-Wise Weekend in Wells Branch” festival in March. NON PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID BOSTON MA PERMIT No 51544 1444 Eye Street, NW, Suite 400

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