Government
BY HALEY MCLEOD, BROOKE SJOBERG & GRACIE WARHURST
WilCo ood cleanup operations ending in December Emergency cleanup crews will nish the ongoing debris removal operations in Williamson County in mid-December, County Emergency Management Director Bruce Clements said at an Oct. 14 meeting. The Texas Division of Emergency Management piles of debris,” Clements said. Debris removal must be completed within six months of the disaster, in accordance with FEMA rules, and the county has targeted a completion
Cedar Park OKs water plant expansion Cedar Park is moving forward with a $394,962 contract with Garver Engineering to demolish and reconstruct part of the city’s water treatment facility. What you need to know The city gave approval Oct. 9 for a con- tract that would see a portion of the facility, built in 1982, demolished and rebuilt, city documents show. The details While the facility has been well-main- tained, city documents state that an engineering analysis found it would be more cost e ective to rebuild the laboratory from the ground up, as it has reached the end of its service life. The project scope includes the laboratory’s demolition, construction of a hardened replacement facility, and needed site and electrical upgrades. The project will also expand the labora- tory’s footprint from 1,000 square feet to 1,800 square feet, city sta said. It will be funded through the city’s 2025 utility capital improvements budget. What’s next? This is the rst phase of an e ort to rehabilitate and expand the city’s water reclamation facility, city documents show.
date for before the holidays, Clements said. “There’s a variety of specialized pieces of equipment that are used—not only specialized equipment to pull it from the river and from the banks, but also managing it and chipping it up,” Clements said at the meeting. “So [it’s] a very impressive operation we have going.” Applicants can access the form online or reach out to the county hotline at 512-991-1045.
and Federal Emergency Management Agency funded the cleanup following the July 4 oods. The update Crews have completed debris removal of about 10% of the waterway, Clements said. “Although it sounds like a really low number, they’ve targeted the areas that are the worst, like where there’s bends in the river and there’s major
Flood cleanup e orts
The removal and cleanup of the debris prevents: Increased risk of wild re
Grapple trucks lled with tree branches, soil and rocks have been transporting debris to a cleanup site in Williamson County daily. So far the ood cleanup e orts have yielded: 121 truckloads of debris per weekday (approx. 6,223 cubic yards)
Housing rodent and pest populations
Blocking waterways and roads
74 truckloads of debris per weekend (approx. 3,118 cubic yards)
Impacting water quality
Damaging to animal habitats
2,568 truckloads per debris management site (approximately 129,258 cubic yards)
Damaging to roads and utilities
River bank erosion and destabilization
SOURCE: WILLIAMSON COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
Travis County to fund $125K passenger rail study
“If we had a great service between here and San Antonio that left several times a day that was quick and e cient and safe,
ranked as the top community preference in 2024 public feedback sessions. According to the 2024 TxDOT Rail Plan, which outlines the agency’s priorities through 2050, the agency is pursuing federal funding to evaluate a potential rail corridor connecting the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Austin, San Antonio and Houston. Some context Brown and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai created the Texas Passenger Rail Advisory Committee in early 2024 to advocate for federal investment and the expansion of passenger rails across Central Texas. With the Austin-San Antonio corridor among the nation’s fastest-growing
Travis County o cials approved a $124,953 feasibility study Oct. 21 to explore a potential com- muter rail line between Austin and San Antonio. The big picture Championed by Travis County Judge Andy Brown, the study will examine passenger rail options along state-managed land near highways, potentially connecting the Amtrak station in San Antonio to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Zooming out The project complements a separate TxDOT study reviewing 11 alternatives along I-35, includ- ing commuter rail and multimodal lanes. Rail
I’ve seen a study that says we would take 25% of the tra c o of I 35 between [Austin] and San Antonio.” ANDY BROWN, TRAVIS COUNTY JUDGE
regions—expected to top 8 million residents by 2050—local leaders say new rail infrastructure is essential to ease mounting pressure on the area’s transportation network.
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