exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

The City of Corpus Christi is urgently trying to find new water sources. That's because our desal plant is four years away from being built. Right now, the City is focusing heavily on the Evangeline aquifer. The City is getting close to securing the water rights to that source of ground water.  

Officials’ warnings could be heard loud and clear throughout the Idle Glen neighborhood in New Caney Tuesday morning.

The popular swimming hole in Wimberley will not be open for swimming this summer. The Hays County Parks Department said increased demand on the local aquifer has caused Jacob's Well's condition to worsen.

The City of Jacksboro has spent the past 12 years trying to make progress on building a new Water Treatment Plant. The current water treatment facility is 80 years old.

The city is expected to spend $48.7 million on water projects and $34.2 million on wastewater projects in 2024.

In a new study published in the journal Water, Doctoral Candidate from UTEP's chemistry program Ramon Antonio Sanchez and UTEP alum Zacariah Hildenbrand, Ph.D., detail how bacteriophage viruses can be used to kill two of the most prominent types of bacteria found in oil and gas industry wastewater. According to UTEP, using this virus that targets that specific bacteria is a fast and cost-effective way to treat the water on an industrial scale.

The newest lake in North Texas is now full. The North Texas Municipal Water District announced on Monday that Bois D'Arc Lake in Fannin County reached full capacity after the rain over the weekend. The district started filling the lake three years ago.

A mandatory evacuation for low-lying areas along the trinity river and below the lake Livingston dam is still in effect. The flooding is mostly due to the discharge from the Lake Livingston Dam, flooding houses and roads.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms continued to pour rain into East Texas Friday morning, adding more water to swollen rivers that have prompted mandatory evacuations as water levels rise in some towns to levels rivaling Hurricane Harvey's devastating floods of 2017. Some 24-hour rainfall totals exceeded 7 inches in the region, with storm totals over the past few days surpassing 12 inches. Rain gauges along Lake Livingston have recorded from 17-20 inches just since Sunday. 

Polk County Emergency Management is monitoring weather conditions as incoming storms are supposed to hit the area. The additional rain could be a problem with the county trying to recover from Sunday night’s storm. Tina Kaspers, a Livingston resident recalls her experience from Monday morning.

The Brazos River Authority has opened one gate at the Morris Sheppard Dam at Possum Kingdom Lake, releasing approximately 9,400 cubic feet per second. The dam was opened at 9:25 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30, because the lake had reached its maximum capacity (999 feet mean sea level), and the dam needed to release water to avoid overflow.

The drainage tunnel will help manage stormwater for a third of the city and protect hundreds of homes and businesses currently at risk of flooding.

Starting Monday, Denton water utilities field crews will be scouring the city to inspect water lines to figure out how many may be affected by copper or lead contamination.

Civic leaders, investors and water experts gathered to discuss urgent issues and new ideas for managing and conserving water in New Braunfels at the Greater New Braunfels Economic Development Foundation's quarterly luncheon April 30. 

“It's one of the most significant droughts we've seen,” an LCRA official said. “We are at a point now where discretionary water use is a big deal.”

The dam, constructed along the James River in Mason County, was built in 2023. Investigations from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) found the dam was constructed without permits.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued and put into effect immediately for areas of Polk County on Monday. According to the order, the county is facing “significant threats to life and property” due to heavy overnight rainfall that caused flooding in low-lying areas.