When it issued the order Oct. 22, Austin Water said the murkiness of floodwater had overwhelmed treatment capacity and could endanger water quality.
The boil order was lifted Oct. 28.
“They changed very radically [their treatment process for] water quality and water sources, and we all know what happened at Flint,” he said.
“I’m not saying that we’re Flint or we’re going to be Flint, but you have to be very thoughtful about process changes so you don’t destabilize your distribution system.” The utility also said adding extra treated water storage capacity could help, as it would buy the city more time to treat floodwater in the event of a similar storm.
Since the order was lifted, Meszaros said, the level of murkiness in water flowing out of Lake Travis is still not what it was before the October flooding.
This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.
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Key Players & Topics In This Article Austin City Council: The Austin City Council is the body with legislative purview over the City of Austin.
Until 2012, the body contained seven members, including the city’s Mayor, all elected at-large.
In 2012, City of Austin residents voted to change that system and now 10 members of the Council are elected based on geographic districts.