City could store three Lake Austins' worth of water underground by 2040
Austin gets all of its water from the Highland Lakes, but that might not always be the case. The city recently took a first step toward storing massive amounts of water underground. If the plan works, it could help Austin survive as the climate crisis threatens traditional water supplies.
With this technique, called aquifer storage and recovery, or ASR, utilities pump water into underground aquifers to save for later. Aquifer storage and recovery is touted as a good way to take advantage of weather extremes, capturing excess water in times of flooding to use in times of drought.
Kevin Critendon, an assistant director for Austin Water, said the technique could help the city deal with the impacts of drought or “system upset” in the Highland Lakes.
Weather is getting more extreme because of climate change. The lakes already got perilously low thanks to drought in 2011 and dangerously muddy because of floods in 2018.
Read more: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2020/08/city-could-store-three-lake-austins-worth-of-water-underground-by-2040/