Accolades
City of Lago Vista Awarded 2018 Grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority
Thanks to more than $171,000 in grants from the Lower Colorado River Authority, several Central Texas communities are able to complete valuable projects that will conserve millions of gallons of water a year from the Highland Lakes.
The City of Lago Vista's $43,479 grant will go toward modifying an existing treated effluent line to allow accumulated re-use water to be saved for future beneficial use instead of being disposed of immediately on cedar trees. The project is expected to save about 52 acre-feet of water from the Highland Lakes roughly 17 million gallons annually.
LCRA’s Firm Water Conservation Cost-Share Program provides funding for water efficiency projects and programs established by LCRA's firm water customers. Customers include cities, utilities, industries, irrigation, and recreational water users. Projects funded through the program include converting irrigated areas using raw or potable water to recycled water, and decreasing utility system water loss such as flushing reductions or leak detection and repair.
City of Lago Vista Wins 2017 Blue Legacy Award
Retail or Wholesale Water Supplier - Population less than 10,000
"In 2009, the City of Lago Vista (lagovistatexas.org) determined that 35 percent of the water sent through their distribution system was lost due to poor mixing in ground storage tanks, dead-end water lines, and leaking pipes. A City task force sought an innovative solution to the water loss problem and identified four strategies that, once implemented over a period of years, reduced average water loss to only 12 percent. Switching to fused High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe for all future line installations was a key component to that success. Additional best management practices employed locally include inspection of irrigation systems and using automatic meter reading (AMR) software to detect leaks and keep customers informed. The City also delivers effluent reuse water to the Highland Lakes Golf Course to meet nearly 60 percent of their irrigation needs, which keeps more water in Lake Travis and provides further evidence of the City’s commitment to water conservation."
SAVE TEXAS WATER - Water Conservation Advisory Council - Excellence Award
Lago Vista Firewise Receives 5-Year Anniversary Plaque from Texas Forest Service
At the January 4, 2018, Special Called Lago Vista City Council Meeting, Texas Forest Service Wildfire Urban Interface Specialist Kari Hines presented Lake Travis North Shore Community Firewise members and Travis County Emergency Services District #1 with a 5-year anniversary plaque for its continuous efforts to reduce the fire danger within Lago Vista.
City of Lago Vista proud to be a Gold Certified Scenic City.
Twenty-one Texas cities have been recognized as 2019 Certified Scenic City award recipients through the Scenic City Certification Program, a program of Scenic Texas and its 17 partner organizations. The Scenic City Certification Program recognizes cities for their demonstrated commitment to high-quality scenic standards for public roadways and spaces. Nine cities have earned certification for the first time and 12 are re-certifying or upgrading existing status, bringing the total number of certified cities across Texas to 82.
The Scenic City Certification Program is a nationally recognized one-of-a-kind model, developed to provide communities with a comprehensive set of standards and evaluations for the design and development of public roadways and spaces. Any Texas city may apply to the Scenic City Certification Program for an objective review of its existing municipal infrastructure ordinances as they relate to the model standards. Assessment is points-based, and every city applicant receives a detailed, scored evaluation that identifies both strengths and areas for improvement. Official certification is earned by cities that score points in the upper range and meet threshold standards for landscaping, tree planting, and sign regulation.
“Through the Scenic City Certification Program, cities access a low cost, high rate-of-return diagnostic tool,” said Sarah Tober, Scenic Texas Executive Director. “The detailed evaluation of existing infrastructure standards provides cities with a roadmap for future growth and development. As municipalities continue to aspire to certification and our highest level of recognition, platinum, it is a reflection of communities working to make a more scenic Texas for citizens and visitors.”
City of Lago Vista Recognized as a Dark Sky Community
We are all familiar with air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. But did you know that light can also be a pollutant? Glare, skyglow, and light trespass are just some of the types of light pollution. Less than a century ago, people could look up and see a spectacular starry night sky. Now, millions of people across the globe will never see or experience the Milky Way where they live. The increased and widespread use of artificial light at night is impairing our view of the universe. Luckily, we in Lago Vista are still able to see many of these beautiful images in the night sky. Dark Sky Communities are towns that show exceptional dedication to the preservation of the night sky through the implementation and enforcement of a quality outdoor lighting ordinance, dark sky education, and citizen support of dark skies. Dark Sky Communities excel in their efforts to promote responsible lighting and dark sky stewardship and set good examples for surrounding communities.
The Keep Texas Beautiful Awards recognize the efforts of those working to enhance their community and protecting the Lone Star State. The award identifies individuals, businesses, media outlets and government agencies who have made an impact in their community and helped further our vision to make Texas the cleanest, most beautiful state in the nation.
Lago Vista Receives Prestigious Governor’s Community Achievement Award
Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) has recognized Lago Vista as one of ten winners of the 2020 Governor’s Community Achievement Awards (GCAA) for outstanding community improvement. KTB, in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), has awarded the GCAA to Texas communities for more than 50 years. This year, the ten winning communities will share $2 million in landscape funding from TxDOT; Lago Vista will receive $130,000 for a landscaping project.
The award is one of the most coveted annual environmental and community improvement honors in Texas. A community’s environmental program is judged by a group of diverse, multi-sector judges on achievements in seven environmental and community improvement areas: public awareness and outreach, environmental education, beautification and community improvement, litter prevention and cleanup, solid waste management, litter law, and illegal dumping enforcement.
The City of Lago Vista and Keep Lago Vista Beautiful (KLVB) have partnered together to develop a strong community development team, focused on maintaining our beauty and educating our citizens on how to protect our natural amenities. Our team received second place in 2018 and made a dedicated effort in 2019 to do more, be better, and get more individuals involved in keeping our Lago beautiful.
The GCAA program has recognized outstanding communities since 1969, with TxDOT providing landscaping award funding since 1985. Lago Vista will receive its award at the GCAA Gala on Tuesday, September 29 in Houston during KTB’s Annual Conference. Other winning communities include South Padre Island, Weston Lakes, Levelland, White Settlement, Alvin, The Colony, Harlingen, Tyler, and Grand Prairie.