exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Pecan Bayou Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), in collaboration with Central Colorado SWCD, Upper Leon SWCD, and Texas Farm Bureau, announces that the application window for the new Drought Resilience Incentive Program (DRIP) has opened.

DRIP offers performance-based payments to producers for brush control and reseeding in native perennials. The program is funded through a grant from NRCS’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The project’s priority areas include the watersheds of Lake Brownwood, Lake Palo Pinto, and Lake OH Ivie.

The Climate Prediction Center [CPC] has issued its Spring outlook including March, April, and May. It calls for confidence in warmer-than-average conditions for the northern tier of the country, including the Pacific Northwest and New England (below). There is also confidence in above-average precipitation for the Southeast U.S. and Ohio Valley, from the Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic to the Deep South with the highest confidence around central and northern Florida along with southern Georgia (above).

Even though the Red River only flows through or past 5 states, about half of that is Texas, it does pick up a large amount of pollution before reaching the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana. It is the 14th most polluted river in the United States according to Ecocation.

Austin Energy is almost done tweaking its Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan for net zero by 2035, but before it can present the plan to City Council for approval, the Electric Utility Commission’s working group must make its final recommendations. There’s just one problem: The group suspects a fundamental part of AE’s plan could actually make pollution worse, while costing the city a pretty penny to implement.

An east Austin school community said it’s frustrated after hearing repeated sounds of gunshots in a nearby park. The shots prompted the school to go into lockdown on several occasions and forced the school to make changes to some outdoor activities.

A new "conservation-scale" development aiming to get approval for a planned wastewater disposal system, but landowners are worried the land is too sensitive and might be damaged by the construction.

The City of San Antonio, San Antonio Water System and more than 80 parties are joining the effort to stop the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality from allowing wastewater to be dumped into a local creek. The TCEQ quality has not formally approved Guajolote’s wastewater permit.

To secure a continued water supply from Lake Travis in the thick of ongoing drought conditions, Cedar Park City Council approved the construction and recommissioning of a temporary floating raw water intake system Feb. 8.

A total of $244,161 in fines were imposed on 12 regulated entities through agreed orders for violations spanning different enforcement categories. These categories include one Edwards Aquifer violation, two multi-media violations, one municipal wastewater discharge violation, three public water systems violations, and two water quality violations.

The pressure to secure adequate water for future generations of Wise County residents is coming to a head in 2024. The Upper Trinity Aquifer below Wise County is beginning to lose ground. With the pace of population projected to transition from a slow drip to a flood, Wise County officials are chasing down leads, approving new conservation tactics and vetting options to answer the lingering question that has kept officials up at night for years: What will we do about water when that growth from the Metroplex comes?

Less than a week ago, Punxsutawney Phil awoke on Groundhog Day and did not see his shadow, a legendary event that portends an early spring. And in our neck of the woods, Austin’s own animal weather prognosticator—an armadillo named Bee Cave Bob—similarly did not see his shadow, forecasting the imminent end of winter.

In March, City Council is scheduled to consider making on-site water reuse mandatory for a majority of large future projects as part of the city’s Water Forward plan. Council postponed consideration of the reclaimed water reuse rule last November after Austin Water recommended a delay to look at how they might lower the price and establish some exemptions for affordable housing projects.

The roosting population size fell to 2.2 acres this winter, the second smallest since scientists began tracking in this manner in the early 1990s and down from a peak of 45 acres in the mid-1990s.

Texas pastures and rangelands are facing a sluggish recovery after enduring years of relentless drought, with U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) data indicating that 78 percent of these areas were rated in poor to very poor conditions as of the end of August.

Officials said due to a water main break causing the system pressure to drop below 20 psi, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the City of Deer Park public water system to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc).

A Texas park closed after a coyote bit two children recently. The City of Arlington notified its residents of the incidents regarding the coyote in a Facebook post [...]. City officials did not disclose the condition of the children but called for the park closure to hopefully trap the coyote.

According to Houston Public Works, an estimated 600,000 gallons leaked from the holding tank that failed, but officials ensured those who receive their drinking water from the City of Houston are not affected.

Texans will vote to invest in projects to improve the water supply in the upcoming election. Proposition 6, stemming from S.J.R 75, would create a “Texas water fund” dedicated to assisting in financing water projects in Texas.

Extreme weather in Texas can be traced to recurring climate patterns such as El Nino and La Nina. Here’s a peek at what that may mean later this year.

Central Texas environmental groups and concerned citizens say the Dripping Springs hotel development marketed as an ecolodge could threaten the local ecosystem. The hotel developers argue that Mirasol could set a precedent for sustainable growth in the Hill Country, having set aside nearly 1,000 acres in a conservation easement, as well as entering into a partnership with the University of Texas.

After more than four years since the failure of the 91-year-old dam, construction of the rebuilt Lake Dunlap dam was completed in fall 2023, and the lake is once again up to its normal levels. While residents above the dam are enjoying activity again on the lake, those below the dam are facing a new reality.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday that it has awarded a $4.5 million contract to Kansas City-based architecture engineering firm Black and Veatch to design the flood gates along and a pump station as part of the Central City Flood Control Project. The project aims bolster Fort Worth’s flood protection by replacing the city’s 1960’s era Trinity River levee system with a bypass channel north of downtown.