Bastrop officials are responding after a bill that aimed to halt Austin Water from sharing Bastrop’s Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer failed to pass in the 89th Texas legislative session , which ended June 2.

Two-minute impact

Introduced by Rep. Stan Gerdes, R-Smithville, House Bill 1523 sought to block the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality from authorizing the Aquifer Storage and Recovery project, or ASR.

In addition to Gerdes, Bastrop City Council and City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino publicly supported the bill, citing a need to protect Bastrop’s main water supply.

“House Bill 1523 failed to pass ... but the issues it raised are real and remain unresolved,” Gerdes said. “This bill brought necessary attention to the growing tensions between large-scale water infrastructure pro

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