A handful of prominent Austinites are again among the city’s thirstiest residential water users, including some who previously blamed broken pipes and other aberrations for using far more water than the typical Austin Water Utility customer.
With Central Texas more than a year into one of the worst droughts in recorded history, the households of health care magnate Robert Girling, auto dealer Doug Maund, lobbyist Neal “Buddy” Jones, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong used between 13 and 20 times what the average Austin home used over the past year, according to Austin Water Utility records.
The list, obtained through an open records request by environmental activist Paul Robbins and verified by the American-Statesman with the water utility, shows water consumption from Oct. 1, 2010, to Sept. 30, 2011. That time frame roughly corresponds to the current drought, which has left Lake Travis, Austin’s primary source of water, about 37 percent full and dropping.