August 18, 2026

City of Austin Showcases Sustainability-Focused Dam Improvements

The City of Austin featured the modernization of Old Lampasas #3 Dam at its workshop event “Green DNA: Learning from our Past to Shape our Infrastructure Future,” in April where city leaders and infrastructure professionals gathered to explore how sustainable practices are shaping the future of Austin’s capital improvement projects.

Freese and Nichols provided dam safety improvements for the project, which is planned to be one of the first to be Envision-certified for Austin Watershed Protection and the City of Austin.

The workshop was hosted by the City’s Envision Program Team and highlighted how Austin departments are using the Envision Framework to guide sustainable infrastructure decisions. Teams from Austin Airport, Austin Energy, Austin Transit Partnership, Austin Parks and Recreation and many more City Departments are aligning sustainable practices.

The Old Lampasas #3 Dam project demonstrates successful use of Envision for completing essential repairs while minimizing impacts to sensitive wildlife ecosystems.

After severe storm-related erosion threatened the dam’s stability, Austin Watershed Protection partnered with Freese and Nichols to evaluate the structure and develop a rehabilitation plan that balanced critical dam safety improvements with protection of a federally threatened salamander species and its habitat.

In addition to dam safety assessments, Freese and Nichols provided hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, design, permitting support and environmental coordination, developing solutions that allowed essential repairs.

“The modernization of Old Lampasas #3 Dam is a great example of how coordination across multiple City departments and State and Federal regulatory agencies has achieved a multi-beneficial solution,” Kimberly Patak, Stormwater, said. “The project reduces flood risk while enhancing and protecting the environment.”