City officials will soon consider a 66% increase to expected construction costs for the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion.

The details: The plant first opened in the late 1970s with the ability to process 18 million gallons daily, or MGD, and it's grown over the years to its current 75 MGD capacity. Actual treatment levels are closer to 60 MGD today but expected to near that 75 MGD limit in just a few years due to population growth, requiring the expansion initiative increasing capacity to 100 MGD by 2032.

Multiple contracts totaling more than $1 billion, both for the expansion and related modernization and facility improvements, were approved in 2024. An additional $600 million is now needed due to various cost escalations, according to AW.

Austin Water has anticipated securing federal and state loans for a large share of the project cost, and using local revenue bonds supported by rising utility charges.

Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum will celebrate its 35th anniversary with an annual Garden Party on April 16.

The details: The Garden Party will feature food, drink and entertainment. This year's theme is "Amore, Garden Party."

The background: Umlauf, located next to Zilker Metropolitan Park, was originally home to acclaimed Charles Umlauf, a professor at The University of Texas at Austin. The site was gifted to the city of Austin in 1985, and included his art studio and a collection of 168 sculptures. The sculpture garden and museum officially opened to the public in 1991.

Next steps: VIP and general admission tickets are on sale now.

With a few days left to vote early in the March primaries, more Texans have turned out to the polls this year than in recent primary elections.

The gist: The increase is particularly pronounced among Democratic primary voters, state data shows, with more than twice as many Democratic votes cast by Feb. 24 than in Texas’ last gubernatorial primary.

Zooming in: Statewide, nearly 1.3 million Texans, or about 7% of the state’s 18.7 million registered voters, cast early ballots through Feb. 24, the eighth day of the 11-day early voting period. This is up from about 6% turnout at the same point in 2024 and about 4% turnout in 2022.

In interviews with Community Impact, election analysts attributed Texas’ rising primary voter turnout in part to a slate of competitive, high-profile races on each party’s primary ballot.

At the polls: Early voting in Texas’ Republican and Democratic primaries runs through Feb. 27, and primary election day is March 3. During early voting, registered voters can visit any polling location within their county of residence.