Winter storm debris complaints top list of Austin 311 calls
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The epic ice storm of 2023 that took down trees and left branches littered across the city of Austin also drove up the number of 311 calls for the year.
KXAN investigators analyzed data from the city to find the top reasons people in Austin contacted 311 in 2023. City data shows there were over 47,000 service requests for storm debris collection – more than double the amount of the next two types of calls topping the list.
According to data from the city's 311 department, requests for a code officer, with over 25,100 requests, was No. 2 on the list and third was non-emergency noises or alarms with around 25,000 requests.
The 47,000 calls for storm debris collection in 2023 represent a massive departure from the year prior, when there were just 36 calls under that classification, according to the city's open data portal. That portal shows the top service request in 2022 was requests for an Austin Code officer, with just over 23,100.
KXAN utilized 311 data directly from the department for 2023. For prior years, we relied on the city's open data portal. According to a spokesperson for the department, the portal data may not show every service request for various reasons.
A city audit from 2023 also revealed some inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the data provided to the public through its open data portal.
28 years' worth of brush
Crews and contractors for Austin Resource Recovery (ARR), the city department responsible for the curbside collection of trash, recycling, composting and yard trimmings, were also tasked with collecting debris and branches from the 2023 storm.
In the weeks and months following the storm, ARR completed three citywide passes, with crews driving along all streets and picking up any and all storm debris that was "properly set at the curb." According to a statement from the department, beginning in May, customers were asked to notify 311 if they still had storm debris at the curb – at which point ARR crews continued special storm debris collections. Standard city operations for curbside collections resumed after June 30.
From February through June, ARR reported its crews collected over 170,000 tons of debris -- enough to fill Austin FC's Q2 Stadium more than four times, according to a city after-action report. A spokesperson for ARR told KXAN it typically collects around 6,000 tons of material in an entire year of semiannual large brush collections – meaning it collected over 28 average years' worth of large brush tonnage in the span of a few months.
"We are incredibly proud of the work our crews and staff did to help our community recover from the winter storm. Austin Resource Recovery crews worked tirelessly to collect an unprecedented amount of storm debris," the department spokesperson said.
Trendsetting events
The volume of 311 calls has reflected major events in Austin in recent years. From 2017 to 2020, the top call types were requests for code officers, traffic signal maintenance and loose dogs.
With the full onset of the pandemic and more people staying home, calls shifted toward homebound issues like missed yard trimmings and recycling in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, with more people back on the roads, parking violations again neared the top of the list.