Austin Water Utility’s Free Toilet Program is back! If you’re an Austin Water Utility customer whose toilets were installed before 1996 you may be eligible for a new, high-performance toilets for free. The new high-performance HETs (high-efficiency toilets) use only 1.28 gallons with each flush. New flapperless technology means these toilets get the job done in just one flush with even less water than some modern toilets. more ›

Earlier today, an anonymous Austinist reader posted this tip in our Contribute section: Has anyone else noticed that Austin water is tasting horrible and fishy lately? Just noticed it last night and it's still gross today. wtf?! According to Austin Water Utility, this fetid stench is caused by recent algae growth in Lake Austin and Town Lake, probably owing to last week's warm weather and the general low water level at our various lakes. The... more ›

While the final figures are just now coming out, last week already seems like a distant memory. Estimated amount, in cubic yards, of sanding material used to clear street locations: 1,349 Austin Energy customers who experienced a power outage: 35,000 Water mains repaired by Austin Water Utility: 16 Calls to EMS dispatchers and Austin Fire Department: 2,133 Calls to 311: 11,370 Collisions reported to the Austin Police Department: 599 Estimated number of canceled flights... more ›

• An anti-tax group called Citizens Lowering Our Unfair Taxes ("CLOUT") has filed suit against state lawmakers alleging illegal spending of our tax dollars over the last 28 years. According to CLOUT, lawmakers use inflated budget numbers to overspend and this leads to Texans being overtaxed.
• Democratic goober nominee Chris Bell has reported that his campaign received a donation of $100,000 from Houston oilman A. Earl Swift. According to the Texas Ethics Commission for the April 17 through May 15 period, Bell reported a total of $333,000. Carole Cougar Mellencamp reported $308,000, while Perry reported $375,000. Kinky Friedman? Roughly $149,000. In other Kinky news: Meet Kinky Friedman tonight at BookPeople at 7:00 p.m.
• The City of Austin Water Utility is part of a new water conservation program called WaterSense. Austin Water Utility, along with other national water suppliers and product manufacturers, is a member of a coalition that provided input and support for the program. High efficiency toilets hooray!
• Residents of Southwest Travis and Northern Hays County affected by water outages no longer need to boil their drinking water. LCRA lifted the boil-water notice Friday morning after test results from samples taken Thursday showed no contamination of the water. If your water is still cloudy Friday morning, LCRA officials say that's likely air in the water, and the cloudiness should disappear in a few minutes.
• An Austin civil rights group has filed suit against Secretary of State Roger Williams and Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir claiming that the Travis County's electronic voting system violates state law because it doesn't produce paper ballots. Two of the corporations that provide nearly all of the voting machines in the United States—ES&S and Diebold—are controlled by Republicans with strong ties to the Bush administration.

Northeast Austin residents may be under a boil water notice later this afternoon, following a drop in water pressure somewhere up north. The Statesman reports that Austin Water Utility is currently distributing free bottled water to those residing in the area "bounded by IH-35 to the west; U.S. Hwy 183 to the south; just north of Rutherford Lane to the north; and roughly Tuscany Way to the east." more ›

Breaking News! The Statesman just reported that a stretch of MoPac (Loop 1) from William Cannon Drive and Slaughter Lane is closed in both directions, after a "construction worker struck a water line." It's estimated to take at least four hours to fix, but the Austin Water Utility Department warned that this might very well continue past rush hour. more ›