The Statesman is reporting that homeowners in western Travis County are shocked and appalled by a new proposal by the Lower Colorado River Authority to increase rates charged for water usage to reflect the high cost of providing water to the hilly, sparsely populated area. LCRA's general manager, Joe Beal, said that another problem is that "People out there use a boatload of water. They irrigate a lot, and they irrigate at the same......

Just like last year, Austin's in for another rainy July 4th. With Lake Travis still hovering around 700 feet above sea level and an estimated 2-4 inches of rain on the way, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is keeping all area lakes closed for boating, including Lake Austin and Town Lake. "Debris and high water from floodwaters make the lakes unsafe," reads the news bulletin post to LCRA's site this afternoon. "LCRA will......

Either something's gone wonky with the Doppler Radar, or Mother Nature's feeling awfully gloomy: Austin's extended forecast indicates that we'll be dealing with hot, stormy weather through the July 4th holiday. Last night's thunderstorms, which delivered an estimated 18 inches of rain, flooded parts of Williamson, Lampasas, and Burnet counties, leaving many folks stranded on cars, roofs, and trees. Emergency rescue crews were forced to make their way by land, air, and, in several cases,......

The National Weather Service is putting you on alert, Austin. There's rain coming. And wind. And hail. Really big hail. The NWS says winds of up to 80 mph can be expected. EIGHTY! The rains are expected to hit Austin around 10pm, [from the Statesman] "Bob Rose, a meteorologist for the Lower Colorado River Authority, said the line of storms likely will move into the Austin area around 10 p.m. and will remain in......

A new mid-income housing subdivision in [Far] East Austin was approved by the Travis County Commissioners Court yesterday, paving the way for developers to construct the 1,343-home project that's identical to one already in Pflugerville. The so-called Villages of New Sweden would be so far out in the boondocks (FM 973 and New Sweden Church Road? We've no idea) that surrounding neighbors are worried this first wave of suburban sprawl might "hurt their property......

On the second day of the new year, Austinist offers you an apocalyptic warning courtesy of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA): much of Austin could one day be submerged in water. More specifically, it would arrive in the form of a 100-year flood, so named because it describes the 1% likelihood of it occuring in a given year and not, as we had initially imagined with shock and horror, the duration that it......

Austinist hopes for your sake that you're nearly finished with your holiday shopping: the freeze that slammed us last week is expected to return in a few days, and will likely stay through Christmas. From the Statesman, Lower Colorado River Authority meteorologist Bob Rose says: "It looks like we'll be locking into a cold pattern that will probably last through the end of the month." Meanwhile, News8's weather report shows overnight lows next week......