Water conservation projects get a boost from LCRA grants

June 25, 2026

LCRA has awarded more than $64,000 in grants to two water customers for projects that will help conserve water from the Highland Lakes.

The grants are provided through the LCRA’s Firm Water Conservation Cost-Share Program.

City of Burnet
A $16,400 grant will allow the City of Burnet to complete phase 2 of a project to improve leak detection. This phase continues the city’s advanced metering infrastructure rollout and promotes a customer dashboard that lets residents track water use as new meters come online.

LCRA staff estimates the $199,090 project will save about 4.1 acre-feet – or roughly 1.34 million gallons – of water from the Highland Lakes annually.

Escondido Golf Club
Escondido Golf Club will install a soil moisture monitoring system to increase its irrigation system’s efficiency with help from a $47,725 grant. Sensors mounted on vehicles such as mowers will connect with the irrigation system and adjust watering schedules to match actual water needs based on soil moisture measurements.

LCRA staff estimates the $95,450 project will save about 43.4 acre-feet – or roughly 14.14 million gallons – of water from the Highland Lakes annually.

LCRA’s Firm Water Conservation Cost-Share Program provides funding for water efficiency projects and programs established by LCRA’s firm water customers, including cities, utilities, industries and irrigation and recreational water users. Applications for the program will be accepted in the fall.

The City of Leander is a previous grant recipient and has seen water use decrease by a million gallons a day because of its conservation programs.