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Day 8: Two West Austin areas still don't have water as others return to normalcy with lifted boil notice and power

The Ullrich Water Treatment plant with a layer on Wednesday.
Austin Water lifted the boil water notice for its Central Austin zone—one of nine in its service area—early Monday morning, a week after a winter storm left hundreds of thousands of Austinites without power and, a couple days later, tens of thousands without water. The boil water notice remains in effect for the eight other zones—two of which are still experiencing a complete water outage. Meanwhile, power has been restored to almost the whole Austin area.
Water update
Most of Austin is still under a boil-water notice, while some do not even have water to boil. As of early Monday morning, two service zones—Northwest C and Southwest C—were still experiencing water outages.
Austin submitted water quality testing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which confirmed on Sunday that tap water in the central pressure zone meets regulatory standards and is safe to consume. Residents can determine which zone their residence is located in using this map.
(Austin Water)
"We expect to have all of Austin with water service by today and (the) boil water notice lifted city-wide shortly after," Director Greg Meszaros said in a statement.
Overnight, Austin Water's reserves exceeded 118 million gallons, increasing water pressure and bringing the city's water system "into healthy territory," according to a press release from the city.
Austin Water also continued to urge customers with water service to take conservation measures "so we can return water service to everyone more quickly" in a tweet on Sunday evening.
The city issued emergency water use restrictions on Saturday, which remain in place. Until further notice, all outdoor water use is prohibited. Customers may not:
- Use water for irrigation or testing of irrigation equipment
- Wash vehicles, including at commercial car wash facilities
- Wash pavement or other surfaces
- Add water to a pool or spa
- Conduct foundation watering
- Operate an ornamental fountain or pond
Water distribution update
The Austin-Travis County Emergency Operation Center will operate 16 free water distribution sites from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. while supplies last. (The Del Valle High School distribution site will open at 10 a.m.)
- Nelson Field (7105 Berkman Dr, Austin, TX 78752)
- Onion Creek Soccer Complex (5600 E. William Cannon Dr, Austin, TX 78744)
- Roy G. Guerrero Park (400 Grove Blvd, Austin, TX 78741)
- ACC Highland Mall Parking Lot (E. Highland Mall Blvd, Austin, TX 78752)
- ACC Pinnacle Campus (7748 Highway 290 West, Austin, TX 78736)
- Garrison Park (6001 Menchaca Rd, Austin, TX 78745)
- Lakeline Station (13625 Lyndhurst Blvd, Austin, TX 78717)
- Walnut Creek Park (12138 N. Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78753)
- Zilker Park (2301 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78746)
- Anderson High School (8403 Mesa Dr, Austin, TX 78759)
- Lago Vista/Jonestown (7905 Bronco Lane, Leander, TX 78645)
- Lakeway/Bee Cave (1941 Lohmans Crossing Rd, Lakeway TX 78734)
- 9300 FM2244, Austin, TX 78733
- Del Valle High School (5201 Ross Rd, Del Valle, TX 78617)
- Manor ISD Athletic Complex (14832 FM973, Manor, TX 78653)
- Mobile POD - San Leanna
Mon. 2/22 - Water distribution from 9am-5pm or until supplies run out, limit 1 case/pickup. Please reserve for those who can't buy or boil.
📍 ACC Pinnacle Campus
📍 Nelson Field
📍 Onion Creek Soccer Complex
📍 Roy G. Guerrero Park
👉 More info: https://t.co/C7l9GMLRXy
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/xfIir4QjIk
— City of Austin (@austintexasgov) February 22, 2021
Power update
Austin Energy's base rates are fixed and any changes must be authorized by Austin City Council. Residential customers are billed for their actual energy usage, and anyone without power during this time had no electric use recorded, according to the same release.
🔊CUSTOMER BILLING UPDATE:
Reports regarding potential bill spikes for non-Austin Energy customers are circulating and we want to make sure our customers have the most accurate information.
Our rates are fixed and must be authorized by Austin City Council.
(1/4)
— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) February 20, 2021
General Manager Jackie Sargent said Friday that the utility does not yet have enough information to predict rate impacts as a result of this statewide super crisis. "That is information that will be forthcoming," she added.
This story was updated at 9:29 a.m. to include the latest information on water outages from Austin Water.
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Popular
(Paxton Smith/Instagram)
Paxton Smith’s 2021 valedictory speech at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas wasn’t the same speech she had previously shared with school administrators. She dropped the approved speech and made a case for women’s reproductive rights after lawmakers passed the Texas "Heartbeat Bill.”
Her advocacy made news on NPR, YouTubeTV and in The Guardian. Just over a year later, the “war on (women’s) rights” she forewarned has come to a head as the U.S. Supreme Court voted Friday morning to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protection for abortion access.
“It is up to the people to show up and show the courts and the politicians that we won’t sit back and let this happen,” Smith told Austonia Friday morning. “We will show up, we will fight back. Before, we were scared of them, now they should be scared of us.”
Now a University of Texas sophomore and abortion rights activist, 19-year-old Smith said she wanted to give the same speech in the “the most public way possible” to reach “as many people as possible who don't agree that I deserve this right.”
However, she says the response was “actually overwhelmingly positive” and supportive of her cause. According to a recent UT poll, 78% of Texas voters support abortion access in most cases.
The speech opened up further opportunities for activism: she advocated for reproductive rights at the International Forum on Human Rights in Geneva, interviewed with Variety magazine and spoke to tens of thousands at Austin’s Bans Off Our Bodies protest at the Texas Capitol in May.
Smith also serves on the board of directors for the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, a national nonprofit organization that helps fund abortions or medication abortion—like Plan C pills—in all 50 states. Most recently, Smith has been attending protests in Washington, D.C. leading up to the ruling.
“This is land of the free. This is where you get to choose how you live your life,” Smith said. “Overturning Roe v. Wade violates everything that we have come to believe about what it means to live in this country. I think a lot of people aren't willing to accept that this is a human right that is most likely just going to be gone for over half of the country within the next couple of weeks.”
Bracing for the next steps, Smith gave some tips for supporters:
- Find a protest to attend.
- “I would say invite somebody to go to those protests with you, invite a couple of friends, invite people into the movement,” Smith said.
- Talk about the issue on social media—use the platform you have.
- “Have these kinds of conversations where people can just talk about their fears and then find ways to go and advocate for yourself,” Smith said.
- Volunteer at a nonprofit near you.
“I feel like a lot of the reason things have gotten as bad as they have within the abortion rights world is that people are not making a scene, not protesting, not putting the effort into ensuring that the government doesn't take away this right,” Smith said. “I want to emphasize that if you're not doing anything, don't expect the best scenario, expect the worst because that's the direction that we're going in.”
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(Council Member Chito Vela/Twitter)
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion, Friday morning. Moments later, Austin City Council set a special meeting for next month to pass a resolution aimed at decriminalizing abortion.
The GRACE Act, which stands for guarding the right to abortion care for everyone, is a twofold plan submitted by council member Jose “Chito” Vela. It recommends that city funds shouldn’t be used to surveil, catalog, report or investigate abortions. It also recommends that police make investigating abortion their lowest priority.
Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who co-sponsored the resolution along with council members Paige Ellis, Kathie Tovo and Mayor Steve Adler, said the importance of the GRACE Act cannot be overstated.
“By introducing this resolution during a special session, City Council is doubling down on fighting back for reproductive health,” Fuentes said. “Items like the GRACE Act will promote essential healthcare while enabling individuals to exercise their bodily freedom.”
The act takes an approach similar to when former council member Greg Casar moved to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Ultimately, state law doesn't allow city officials to order police chiefs to adopt specific enforcement policies so the resolution would be a request to Police Chief Joe Chacon. In May, Politico reported that Vela is having "ongoing conversations" with Chacon about the proposal.
Austonia contacted Attorney General Ken Paxton for comment on the GRACE Act but did not hear back by time of publication. On Friday, Paxton celebrated the overturning of Roe and announced an annual office holiday on June 24 in recognition of the high court's decision.
In a press release, Vela said the Texas state government has a history of overturning municipal protections of human rights. Thirty days after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Texas will ban all abortions, with exceptions only to save the life of a pregnant patient or prevent “substantial impairment of major bodily function.”
Still, Vela expressed hope for the GRACE Act’s longevity. Council’s special meeting on it is set for the week of July 18.
“We know this resolution is legally sound, and Austin is not alone in this fight,” Vela said. “We are working with several other cities who are equally horrified by the prospect of an abortion ban and want to do everything they can to protect their residents.”
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