EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: For more than three decades, the City of Austin has been recognized as a national leader in watershed protection. From the 1970s to today, the City’s flood, erosion, and water quality protection efforts have matured with the passage of protective regulations, development of comprehensive programs, and with dedicated funding for capital projects. This Watershed Protection Master Plan outlines a framework for the Watershed Protection Department (WPD) to address existing problems and prepare for future challenges. It uses the following approach:

1. Establish watershed protection goals;
2. Evaluate watershed conditions relative to the goals;
3. Identify problem locations and prioritize by problem severity
4. Identify preferred solutions to address problems. Each component is presented below and discussed in detail in the full Master Plan.