Central Texas Water Coalition President Jo Karr Tedder said she wants to see the city of Lakeway push for responsible water usage in the face of drought conditions. 

“I would love for the city to take a stand and say we need a more protective water management plan in order to maintain the households that we're required to have here and to meet the needs of all of our constituents,” she said.

Portions of Travis County are listed as being in moderate or severe drought, according to the U.S. drought monitor. Karr Tedder said that monthly rainfall in 2021 more closely resembled the drought years of 2008 to 2015 than it did the overall average for the past 80 years.

The Lakeway City Council voted Monday night to renew its agreement with the Central Texas Water Coalition, paying the usual annual $5,000 for the organization to spend on matters that will “advance and promote the city's economic and public safety interest in matters directly relating to the sale and use of water from lakes Travis and Buchanan.”

The coalition has a volunteer board and the money it receives from local municipalities goes toward paying for a water attorney, a hydrologist and a media specialist to get the word out about their efforts, Karr Tedder said.

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Karr Tedder said low lake levels can have far-reaching negative impacts, from making it more difficult to fight wildfires in the area to the economic hit of fewer tourists on the lake.

“Anytime you have drought conditions, you have problems with your emergency service districts having access to water,” she said. “Lake Travis is down 21 feet right now. I saw Briarcliff had to close their boat ramp because the lake’s down too low. There are seven boat ramps that are closed already. And it's April. So it is an issue.”

Karr Tedder said her goal is to address water usage by pushing for more oversight from bodies like the Lower Colorado River Authority and educating the public about how to conserve before conditions deteriorate. 

“Our goal is to raise public awareness about how important it is that we get serious about dealing with the water,” she said. “You have to plan for drought when there's water in the lakes. It does not do one bit of good to, like the last drought, wait until we're in the middle of it and then say oh my gosh, let's start cutting back. It's too late.”

Karr Tedder said people should be mindful of their water usage, even if they can afford it financially, by doing things like turning off the water while they scrub plates and turning off the shower while they apply soap. 

“We waste a lot of water. We waste a lot of water because we're spoiled because we're used to having it,” she said. “But you have to be smarter."

The Lakeway City Council also approved the preliminary plan for the first phase of the Square on Lohmans, which includes much of the residential housing in the development. The main difference between the plan and the already-approved Planned Unit Development agreement is an emergency access trail connecting the development property to the Rolling Green Drive area.

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This access point will be for emergency use only — for example, if a fire truck needs a secondary access point to the development — and the council voted to block the route off with a gate to prevent trespassing. The land between the development and Rolling Green Drive is owned by the Lakeway Municipal Utility District, which would need access for utility maintenance anyway, according to a representative for the developers.

The council also voted to approve using American Rescue Plan Act funds to reimburse the city for several qualifying projects and expenses last year. Those included installing the city’s new emergency alert system, purchasing an emergency management vehicle, replacing the automatic doors at the Activity Center and a floor cleaning machine at the Police Department. Reimbursements for these projects will be $124,650.

The city received about $3.9 million from the act; half of it was paid out in August and the other half will be sent this August. City Manager Julie Oakley said if the city does not use the funds, it risks losing the money. Eligible expenses include broadband internet infrastructure, water and sewer projects, drainage projects and anything that helps cities better weather the pandemic.