The Pflugerville City Council discussed updates to the recent water system discussion as well as park rule updates at their May 12 meeting.

The gist: At an April 28 City Council meeting, staff announced that the level of Lake Pflugerville has remained just above 633 feet, and the city moved into modified Stage 1 emergency water restrictions May 1.

At the May 12 meeting, staff shared that modified Stage 1 water restrictions will remain in place due to treatment capacity limitations and the planned pump station shutdown.

As of May 10, the lake is at 635.52 ft, so the temporary bypass pumping line is currently turned off.

In other news: Several changes were made to park rules after feedback and discussion at the May 12 meeting.

Updates approved for Lake Pflugerville include 24/7 fishing access language being added back, electric motor fishing boats/trolling motors continuing to be allowed and park hours being set for 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Check out some recent stories coming out of Hutto ISD. 

1. Slightly lower enrollment predicted for Hutto ISD over next decade amid housing market shift

2. Hutto ISD to propose same tax rate for 2026-27

3. Hutto ISD pioneering administrative incentive program, working to balance FY 2026-27 budget

After dozens of Texas primary races ended without a clear winner in March, candidates for those seats will face off in an overtime round, known as a runoff election, this month. Texans can vote early in the runoff election from May 18-22, with election day May 26.

How it works: State law requires that primary candidates receive more than 50% of the votes cast to advance to a general election.

In the May 26 runoff election, Republican and Democratic voters will choose who they want to represent them in statewide offices, legislative and Congressional seats, the State Board of Education and county-level positions. The winner of each runoff race will appear on the ballot in November.

On the ballot: The statewide Republican runoff races include:

• U.S. Senate: John Cornyn and Ken Paxton
• Texas attorney general: Mayes Middleton and Chip Roy
• Texas railroad commissioner: Jim Wright and Bo French

• Texas attorney general: Nathan Johnson and Joe Jaworski
• Texas lieutenant governor: Vikki Goodwin and Marcos Vélez

A 2023 Texas law allowing state and local police to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally is scheduled to take effect May 15.

The overview: Texas legislators passed Senate Bill 4, a state immigration enforcement law, in late 2023. The law was originally set to take effect in March 2024, but has been tied up in court for more than two years.

For the first time, the law would allow Texas police to arrest migrants they suspect crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization and allow judges to order migrants’ removal if they are found guilty of illegal entry.

The background: SB 4 had been largely blocked by a series of court rulings since early 2024. A federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against SB 4 April 24, and a separate lawsuit was filed May 4.

On May 13, U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra—who previously deemed SB 4 unconstitutional—heard arguments in the secondary lawsuit, although he did not issue a ruling before press time May 13.