In 2022, a wastewater treatment plant expansion project was completed in the city of Buda, increasing the facility’s treatment capacity.

As an element of the project, the City Council granted a $10.29 million contract for the construction of an effluent force main to a new water discharge point at a March 24 meeting.

The full story: The Sunfield Effluent Force Main Project features the construction of an approximately 18,000-linear-foot gravity sewer pipeline from the wastewater treatment plant to a discharge location in the Sunfield Municipal Utility District.

The facility can currently treat up to 3.5 million gallons of water per day, but only discharge up to 2 mgd. The new effluent force main will allow the city to fully utilize the plant’s expanded treatment capabilities.

City Council approved the multimillion-dollar contract with MA Smith Contracting Co. for the Sunfield Effluent Force Main Project.

The next steps: Construction on the effluent force main is expected to begin in May.

Officials said the project will be substantially completed in 2027, sometime between March and May.

Established in 1986, the nonprofit, no-kill rescue organization had provided four decades of animal aid in Hays County.

With locations in Kyle and Dripping Springs, PAWS Shelter of Central Texas is dedicated to saving vulnerable pets in Hays County, according to the website.

How to help: PAWS organizers have a wishlist of always-needed items on the home page of the website.

Those looking to get involved can also:

• Adopt a pet

• Foster a pet

• Donate items such as food, litter or toys

• Schedule a monthly monetary donation

• Volunteer

One more thing: Volunteers at the Dripping Springs campus gain access to 39 acres of trails to hike with the shelter dogs.

• Kyle Campus, 500 E FM 150, Kyle; Dripping Springs Campus, 2965 FM 165, Dripping Springs

The world's largest semiconductor plant could be coming to Austin after billionaire Elon Musk announced the project at a March 21 livestreamed event in downtown Austin.

Terafab—a joint venture between Tesla, SpaceX and xAI—would be "the largest chip manufacturing facility ever," producing a combined compute capacity of 1 terawatt annually, according to a post by Tesla on X.

The big picture: The advanced technology fab would enable Musk's companies to escalate their production efforts, he said. Musk said current global semiconductor production meets only a fraction of the energy and compute demands his companies anticipate.

The facility would generate 100-200 gigawatts of chips for Optimus humanoid robots along with terawatts of chips for solar-powered AI satellites, according to Tesla information.

A closer look: In a post on X, Musk said Terafab could be 100 million square feet. Several potential sites are under consideration for the facility, he said.

Tesla opened its new 10 million-square-foot headquarters—Giga Texas—in southeast Travis County in 2021.

The South Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is officially shutting down March 31 after less than a decade in operation.

The details: The auxiliary terminal is being demolished to make way for new midfield taxiways as part of the multiyear "Journey with AUS" campus expansion. That includes the addition of the 26-gate Concourse B with a new connecting tunnel to the existing Barbara Jordan Terminal, and the development of a temporary six-gate southern terminal called Concourse M.

The South Terminal was initially expected to have a longer presence at ABIA, and its early closure led to costly legal proceedings between the city and former facility operator LoneStar Airport Holdings.

What else: Ahead of the South Terminal closure, Austin Aviation unveiled its initial designs for the nearly 38,000-square-foot Concourse M. Its gates on the west side of ABIA's airfield are meant for relief and diversions during Journey with AUS construction as the Barbara Jordan Terminal is expanded and improved, and while Concourse B remains in development.