You and Watershed Protection

Below are links to District brochures regarding stormwater pollution prevention:

Please contact the District’s Stormwater Committee if you would like a physical copy of this brochure.

The City of Austin maintains the City of Austin Watershed Protection Education website – a wonderful resource encouraging environmental stewardship. One of the resources there is A Watershed Community, a beautiful brochure with an overview of Austin-area watershed information.

Did you know that most of the City of Cedar Park is located within either the Recharge or Contributing Zone of the Edwards Aquifer? This aquifer provides water for municipal, industrial, and agricultural purposes as well as containing rare and endangered species. The Edwards aquifer is created by water running through rocks until they dissolve, so fractures, caves, sinking streams, and sinkholes act as conduits to the aquifer from the surface. This means that any surface pollution from stormwater runoff or spills will directly impact the water quality of the aquifer, possibly impairing drinking water and affecting the sensitive ecosystem. To preserve these beneficial uses, Texans must protect water quality in this aquifer and other waterways from degradation resulting
from human activity.  Familiarize yourself with the City of Cedar Park’s information on Storm Drain Water Quality and how stormwater runoff affects our community.

Learn about conserving water here.

Contact Us if you know of other resources that we can reference here.

Help us educate people on how to keep our retention pond parks clean and safe:

Do you think your dog could be a Bark Ranger?

The purpose of this program is to promote responsible use and enjoyment of our parks by citizens and their pets. Core environmental concepts are introduced including Leave No Trace Principles, Outdoor Safety for Pets, and Park Stewardship for Pet Owners. This program directly supports the mission of promoting responsible recreation, cultivating stewardship, and conserving natural resources.

Once you have completed the Bark Ranger workshop, either online or in-person, you will have the opportunity to join the City of Austin Park Rangers Service Unit. The Service Unit is an optional community of Bark Rangers that want to give back to their parks. With each dog creating about 1/2 pound of waste per day, 75 Bark Ranger graduates can prevent 37.5 lbs of waste from being left in parks daily which adds up to about 13,687.5 lbs per year! You may find them in Austin parks, volunteering or educating on responsible dog ownership. If this sounds like you, make sure to check out their web site!

You can do your part in protecting our watersheds by ensuring that your waste is disposed of properly. Here are some resources to help you:

Illicit Discharge – Information and Reporting

An illicit discharge is defined as any discharge to the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) that is not composed entirely of stormwater, except for discharges allowed under a TPDES permit. Non-stormwater discharges can originate from direct connections to the storm drain system from business or commercial establishments (illicit connections), or indirectly as improper surface discharges to the storm drain system.

Please click the ILLICIT DISCHARGE button below to report an illicit discharge.

Allowed Discharges

• Air conditioning condensation
• Dechlorinated pool water
• Discharges from potable water sources
• Landscape irrigation
• Residential car washing
• Runoff from firefighting
• Street wash water from cleaning/maintenance (excluding street sweeper water waste)
• Water utility line flushing

Prohibited Discharges

• Chlorinated pool water
• Commercial car wash wastewater
• Dumping of liquid waste
• Industrial process water
• Sanitary sewer flows
• Used oil
• Wash-down of loading areas
• Wastewater treatment plant effluent
• Water softener brine backwash