AUSTIN (KXAN) — A plan to store Austin’s drinking water underground is shifting closer to home after pushback from residents in Bastrop County.
Last year, Austin Water explored pumping treated water into an aquifer beneath Bastrop County. But after backlash from people who live there, the utility is now focusing on sites in eastern Travis County.
The project, known as aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), would store treated drinking water underground when supplies are plentiful and bring it back during drought.
“The aquifer storage and recovery is taking our treated drinking water … and storing it underground to bring it back as a savings account,” Marissa Flores Gonzalez with Austin Water said…