Austin Water Notice
The Austin Water/Wastewater project is definitely a hot topic around Hyde Park. Austin Water recently emailed residents with a bit of an update, which we’re passing along here. Also, you can subscribe to get email updates on this project from them.
Here’s the text of the letter from Austin Water:
July 11, 2023
Dear Hyde Park Neighbors,
Several of you have asked why Austin Water crews sometimes leave a street before finishing construction, only to return and start work again later. We realize this back and forth causes frustration, so we wanted to provide an update.
Working in the Hyde Park Neighborhood, our crews have encountered many unexpected blockages that force them to halt construction. These blockages are usually caused by old utility equipment, such as gas lines and storm sewers, installed decades ago -- but not properly recorded. (At the time of these old installations, tools that could accurately capture underground placement did not exist.)
Whenever our crews encounter one of these obstacles, they have to halt their work until the appropriate authority can get the blockage removed. Occasionally, construction plans for that spot must even be redesigned.
We do not want the Hyde Park Water and Wastewater Project to stall while we are on hold resolving an unanticipated problem, so in this situation, the contractor relocates the crews to work on another street. This keeps the overall project in motion.
Thanks to this strategy, the Hyde Park Water and Wastewater Project remains on schedule despite all the unforeseen obstacles. Approximately 50% of the work is completed, and we still anticipate a February 2024 finish.
However, we realize this approach means there are disrupted areas of streets that sit disrupted, for sometimes weeks, and we are grateful for your patience. Unanticipated blockages are typical in older areas; unfortunately, the older the area, the more unrecorded blockages we tend to encounter. We are currently working to resolve this sort of problem on East 47th as well as Avenues D, F, G and H.
New utilities are coming to the Hyde Park area as part of Renewing Austin, a city-wide project to update Austin’s water infrastructure as we prepare for the future.
Please feel free to contact a member of the project team with any questions, and we hope you will share this update with neighbors and encourage them to sign-up to receive updates here.
Project Resources:
Project Website: austintexas.gov/hydeparkwater
Sign up to receive project updates by email at this link.
Project Contacts
Lisa Whitworth, Project Manager
512-974-5615
email
Joshua Ramos, Construction Coordinator
Mobile (737) 500-6458
email
Cynthia Miller, Public Information
email
