Austin Water Pulls Plug on Controversial Bastrop County Aquifer Project After Fierce Local Opposition

By Kristen Meriwether, Publisher

After months of negative public feedback and pushback from local elected officials, Austin Water has withdrawn its pursuit of an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project in Bastrop County.

“While Austin put our best foot forward to achieve the collaboration and partnership that would be needed to complete testing and eventually build such a regional project, we didn’t reach the level of partnership that we need for this project’s success,” a Nov. 19 withdrawal letter from Austin Water to the Austin City Council said. “As a result, the best path forward is to table this Collaboration Agreement and allow Austin Water to devote funding and resources to alternative approaches in our 100-year water plan — Water Forward.”

In 2021, Austin Water conducted a study to determine which aquifers in the surrounding eight counties would be suitable for an ASR project. The Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, which runs from the Rio Grande to Arkansas and Louisiana, was determined to be the best one.

Travis, Lee, and Bastrop counties were all identified as possible locations; however, Travis County was eliminated from consideration after the hydrogeology was deemed less favorable. The Lee County Commissioners Court issued a resolution in March 2023 requesting that no permit be issued within the county.

Bastrop County became the last option, and Austin Water spent much of the summer and fall engaging with the public in town halls and municipal meetings. But residents and elected officials pushed back against the project at every turn.

The Smithville City Council heard several presentations about the project, but at its October meeting, it voted to table approving the memorandum of understanding due to residents’ concerns. The Bastrop City Council also rejected signing the MOU.

State Rep. Stan Gerdes, who represents Bastrop and Lee counties as part of his five-county district, has been a vocal opponent of the project since it was announced. On Nov. 11, he sent a letter to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson urging the city to reconsider locating the project in Bastrop County.

“After YEARS of pushing back, speaking out, and refusing to be ignored, we did it — the City of Austin’s plan to inject and store their treated city water in our aquifer is OFFICIALLY DEAD,” Gerdes wrote in a Facebook post after the announcement that the project would not move forward. “This is a HUGE victory for our community, our water, and every single person who stood up and refused to let the City of Austin steamroll us. We fought hard. We stood strong. And we WON. Don’t mess with HD 17.”

Bastrop Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland expressed similar sentiments in a Facebook post following the withdrawal: “Thank you to the people of Bastrop, our county officials who stood strong, and Stan Gerdes for fighting with us every step. As Acting Mayor Pro Tem, I’m proud to have helped lead this effort — and even prouder of this community. We spoke up. And we won.”

Smithville Texas News reached out to the City of Smithville for a statement regarding the withdrawal. We will update this article with a statement when one is provided.