exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

The plant near Lorena currently processes 1.5 million gallons of wastewater per day and has a total capacity of 2 million gallons per day, said Kendall Borg, Waco utilities plant operations manager. Borg said the upgrades and expansion expected to be complete in the next five to eight years would allow the plant to process up to 4 million gallons of wastewater per day.

The Sugar Land City Council has approved a $28 million grant application to the Texas Water Development Board last month to address erosion along the Brazos River. The Texas Water Development Board is expected to approve the grant funding later this month. The grant will be used to address erosion near the Riverstone community.

Despite recent rain, the Travis County Water Control and Improvement District No. 17 announced that they are now enforcing new water restrictions. The district includes parts of west Austin and Lake Travis.

The city of Georgetown released over a million gallons of wastewater from the Dove Springs and San Gabriel Wastewater Treatments Plants due to heavy rainfall Jan. 22, according to a news release.

After a massive 223 day drought, this iconic swimming spot in the Texas Hill Country is flowing again after recent rains. However, it may be only temporary.

Recent rainfall is making a noticeable impact across the South Plains, with many counties now lifted out of drought conditions. Now in the El Niño phase, forecasters expect those conditions to improve even more this Spring.

The voluntary evacuation order for some Polk County residents has been rescinded, according to officials.vThe voluntary evacuation was for residents who lived in the unincorporated areas of Polk County below the Lake Livingston Dam, and along the Trinity River.

Round Rock City Council agreed to mediation with several municipal utility districts at council meeting Jan. 26, seeking to resolve yearslong litigation over water rates.

The spill area is around 3000 Quail Rd. and happened at approximately 11 a.m. Saturday. The spill was ongoing at 6 a.m. Sunday at 75 gallons per minute, according to a report from the City of Fort Worth. Overflow does not impact Fort Worth's drinking water, but people should avoid contact with the waste material, soil or water in the area potentially affected by the spill. 

Sample outlined several of the major projects the city will take on in 2024, which include work set to begin Feb. 12 on $1 million in Wier Park improvements. The park will be closed for roughly three months while work is underway. One of the most significant projects to come before the West University Place City Council in 2024 relates to drainage, Sample said. Council could consider a design contract in May for a westside drainage project that has been under consideration since before Hurricane Harvey, work that Sample said will "probably be our biggest infrastructure project since the city was built."

The agency has found that the air pollution and particulate matter from concrete batch plants can increase the risk of asthma and cardiac arrest if people inhale too much of it. Now it has launched a pilot project — the first in Texas — that will survey air, water, and soil to determine how the combined pollution from this cluster of industrial sites impacts public health in two predominantly Black and brown Dallas neighborhoods: West Dallas and Joppa in South Dallas. EPA says the project is expected to be completed by July 2024.

The Sweeny City Council voted Tuesday night to seek proposals for an iron and manganese filtration system for the Sweeny Water Treatment Plant while continuing to replace corroded pipes in affected areas. That filtration system will not come from Water of Texas, a company the council had been discussing solutions with for several months.

The City of Rockdale is two months into Phase One of its water line replacement project as an attempt to solve a decades-long water issue. The city is spending $27.4 million to replace 10,000 feet of cast-iron pipes, hoping to have another bid approved in April to supply an additional 90,000 feet of PVC piping.

Intense storms are the suspected culprits behind a damaged upstream manhole, the inadvertent primer to this environmental predicament. This damage prompted an unforeseen rush of rainwater into the city’s sanitary system, which emerged near Heartwood Dr. Austin Water officials, working diligently to contain the mess, utilized flow meters to assess the volume of water that gushed from Williamson Creek into municipal lines.

Wastewater epidemiology, crucial in COVID virus tracking, now aids in monitoring opioid trends at 70 U.S. sites to combat drug abuse and fatalities.

A creek in Richardson turned bright red Sunday after a nearby carwash illegally dumped wastewater into one of the tributaries. The spill was reported around noon when people noticed large amounts of red liquid flowing through Cottonwood Creek near Arapaho Road and Hampshire Lane, the city said in a statement on Facebook.

Parts of the state are starting the year with low reserves. With light winter rains failing to replenish supply, and a scorching summer predicted, key areas may be pushed to the brink.