Austin Construction Jobs Created by New Water Treatment Plant

The creation of a new water treatment plant could create thousands of Austin construction jobs.

The Austin City Council recently voted in favor of releasing funds for a new water treatment plant, which would help create new jobs and attract new businesses to the area.

"Companies looking to make a long-term commitment in Austin want to be assured that the city continues to invest in all of its infrastructure, whether its roads or water," Jeremy Martin, senior vice president of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, told the Austin Business Journal.

Officials have said the $849 million plant would create more than 3,000 new construction jobs. The Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said the project also would create jobs in other infrastructure elements.

The few officials who oppose the new water treatment plant say the project will negatively effect low and moderate income households and small businesses because it will increase water rates by 15 percent.

However, there is no arguing that the Austin area could use the added construction jobs. Even though the area hasn't seen as big of a decrease in construction employment as some other metro areas throughout the country, Austin has still lost a considerable amount of jobs in the industry.

The Austin-Round Rock area's mining, logging and construction industry employed 44,200 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 44,500 workers during August and a 6.6 percent decrease from last year.