53 Community Engaged Research for Environmental Sustainability and Community Resilience

We welcome trans-disciplinary submissions with a strong focus on community engagement in research development or implementation, especially research addressing issues of sustainability in water, air quality, land use, energy, climate change, and environmental justice.

Sunday, 19 October 2025
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, 302B

Impacts of Degrading Municipal Water Infrastructure on Resilience in a Water Stressed Region

Paper number: 53-11
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 3:07 PM – 3:22 PM

Authors

  • Fernando Pagán González Presenting Author
    University of Texas at Austin, Jackson School of Geosciences, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Austin, TX
  • David Bahamón-Pinzón
    University of Texas at Austin, Environmental Science Institute, Austin, TX
  • Helen Siegel
    University of Texas at Austin, Environmental Science Institute, Austin, TX
  • Jay Banner
    University of Texas at Austin, Jackson School of Geosciences, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Environmental Science Institute, Austin, TX

Abstract

Population growth and development in urban centers can negatively impact water quality through increased runoff, loss of riparian buffers, and wastewater leakage. Across the Southwest US, water quality degradation in urbanized areas is being further exacerbated by increased water scarcity and drought intensity. Texas is one of the fastest growing states in the nation, with the capital city of Austin alone growing 19.8 % from 2010 to 2020. The impacts of this expansion are exacerbated in East Austin, which hosts the most environmentally degraded watersheds in the city. Here in the Boggy Creek watershed, the community organization PODER has identified the water resilience challenges of decreasing access, reduced recreational opportunities, and deteriorating water quality. Our objective is to better understand sources and mechanisms of impacts on water quality in the creek. We apply elemental and isotope geochemistry along with bacterial analysis for 2024-2025. Stream water quality parameters vary spatially along Boggy Creek (pH = 7.1 - 11.2, TDS = 240 - 910 ppm, E. coli = <1 - >242,000 MPN/100mL, 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70829 - 0.70968). These results can be accounted for by mixing between municipal water and natural stream water in proportions from 45% - 100% municipal water. High stream discharge was observed under drought conditions at a site that had been dry for the previous two months. Water quality parameters for the high discharge (pH = 9.2, TDS = 264 ppm, fluoride = 0.62 ppm, E. coli = <1 MPN/100mL, 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70923) align closely with that of municipal supply water (pH = 9.4, TDS = 264 ppm, fluoride = 0.60 ppm, E. coli = <1 MPN/100mL, 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70927). At a separate site, a more than 450-fold increase in E. coli concentrations was observed from April 2024 (520 MPN/100mL) to May & June 2024 (>242,000 MPN/100mL). After sharing these results with the city’s Department of Watershed Protection, a wastewater leak near the sampling site was identified and repaired, which led to a significant decrease in E. coli concentrations (147,000 MPN/100mL in July to 29 MPN/100mL in September 2024). These results reveal multiple impacts of failing infrastructure on water quality in urban watersheds, highlight the importance of temporal water quality monitoring, and demonstrate effective synergies of collaboration between multiple stakeholders for environmental management.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-414831

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