All underground concrete work on the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority’s deep-water intake project is now complete, according to Aaron Archer, vice president of civil engineering firm Walker Partners.

Archer said it’s a significant milestone for the BCRUA. He gave updates on the project to the Leander City Council at its Dec. 18 meeting.

The details: Archer said that the mining and lining of the tunnels, shaft and suction chamber is complete.

He also said that construction of the pump station building, where water will be brought up from the underground tunnels, has begun.

The intake maintenance building is also under construction.

Once completed, the BCRUA’s Raw Water Intake project will be able to pump 145 million gallons of water from the lake per day.

Archer said that Phase 1D of the BCRUA project, which consists of expansions to the BCRUA water treatment plant, was substantially completed in November and will be officially completed in January.

We Are Blood is teaming up the Greater Austin YMCA and YMCA of Central Texas to host the fifth annual Winter Blood Drive Challenge.

What's happening: The end-of-year challenge, taking place from Dec. 22 through Dec. 31, aims to combat a decline in blood donations during the holidays due to travel, school and office closures, and weather. Despite a usual drop in donations this time of year, demand throughout the 10-county region served by We Are Blood often increases, according to a news release.

The details: Multiple YMCA locations across the Austin area will participate in the blood drive challenge. The location with the highest number of donations will win the challenge, taking home a trophy and earning bragging rights for a year.

Donors who participate will receive a We Are Blood sweatshirt and do not have to be YMCA members.

Here are five of the most-read CI Texas stories from this year and the latest updates on these trending topics.

1. Texas Senate passes bill that would nearly double property tax exemption for seniors, people with disabilities: Elderly and disabled homeowners were set to receive a $200,000 property tax exemption this year.

2. Texas House bill would make it easier to remove students from the classroom: The law gives teachers more discretion to remove students from the classroom if they are repeatedly disruptive or threaten the safety of others.

3. What to know about the 17 state propositions on the Nov. 4 ballot: Nearly 3 million Texans voted in the November election, approving all 17 constitutional amendments.

4. Texas House bill would prohibit cellphone use in K-12 schools: Under House Bill 1481, cellphones and other personal communication devices are prohibited bell-to-bell in Texas public schools.

5. Texas families can now access 2022-23 A-F school accountability ratings after multiyear legal battle: The state later released ratings for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years in August.