“It just sucked you in.” An Austin man describes the moment his truck fell into a sinkhole caused by a water main break. The city says it’s immune to liability.

Chancellor said the city of Austin promises in the proposed agreement to store more water in the aquifer than it takes out, leaving at least a 5% deposit to provide a buffer to the native groundwater.

In 2024, city-owed pipes seeped and spewed 9.3 billion gallons of treated water – a 31% increase over the previous year, according to annual audits submitted to the Texas Water Development Board.

Those efforts are incorporated into Austin's 100-year Integrated Water Resource Plan to elevate the city's climate resiliency and mitigate possible supply risks.