Austin’s Colony Water Quality

For more than a decade, the unincorporated, historically underserved and predominantly low-income community of Austin’s Colony in Far East Austin have endured unreliable, contaminated, and exorbitantly priced water access provided by privately owned, for-profit utility Texas Water Utilities. The lack of affordability is compounded by added bottled water costs and constant appliance maintenance. In 2021, PODER began working with residents to discuss community concerns, and in 2023 established a partnership with researchers at UT Austin through the BRIDGES program to address environmental issues impacting communities like Austin’s Colony and promote community resilience. 

Identifying impacts and causes of drinking water quality issues through community-based participatory research in a suburban neighborhood in Texas: The case of Austin’s Colony

Bahamón-Pinzón et al. - PLOS Water - 2026

In a recent study published in the journal PLOS Water, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin took a closer look at the water quality from April 2024–October 2025, working with residents and the community group PODER to collect information and water samples from across the neighborhood.

While the neighborhood’s water meets state water quality standards at its source, which is what’s required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the research revealed three water samples that were discolored and eight — including all three of the discolored samples — that had levels of various contaminants, including lead and arsenic that exceeded state standards. 

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