exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

The operators of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Tijuana River Valley are being accused of releasing untreated water containing “extremely high levels” of raw sewage and toxic chemicals into the valley and out to the Pacific Ocean. Both San Diego Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation have sent a letter to the International Boundary and Water Commission warning they will sue the agency if the facility continues to release contaminated water.

On Friday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department shared videos on social media of recycled Christmas trees dumped into Granger Lake in Central Texas. The department said the old Christmas trees help fish habitats and improve fishing as part of the Inland Fisheries Division program, which puts fish habitat structures at major reservoirs in Texas to help fish and “improve anglers’ catch rates.”

This month, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District will install two new scientific monitoring wells in Garrison and Zilker parks. The new wells will be used to collect information about Edwards Aquifer water level and quality, as well as further the city’s federally mandated task of protecting the health of the endangered Barton Springs and Austin blind salamanders.

The Punta Bandera Wastewater Treatment Plant was built in 1978, long before Tijuana turned into a city of 2 million residents. The facility is located on the coast about 6 miles south of the border, and it’s supposed to treat at least 25 percent of the city’s raw sewage.

Since the 1980s, the city has drained the famously green San Antonio River to keep things clean downtown. Every two years, officials drain the commercial stretch of the river and rid it of its trash, as well as mysterious and lost items.

Wastewater surveillance has detected high levels of COVID-19 viral activity in recent weeks, but that viral activity was detected in untreated wastewater found in sewers, for example. That wastewater is not part of what is commonly referred to as the "water supply." And experts told PolitiFact that any wastewater that might eventually be recycled to return as part of the drinking water supply would be treated and sanitized at very high levels that would kill pathogens.

Friendswood currently has agreements with both Houston and the Gulf Coast Water Authority for use of their surface water and wastewater treatment plants, which would cost more than $100 million if Friendswood were to build its own infrastructure, City Manager Morad Kabiri said.

San Antonio has plenty of water to serve its residents and businesses despite the lingering drought, San Antonio Water System staff told board members Tuesday. However, as the region’s growth continues, the utility will have to grow its water resources to keep pace, officials said.

El Niño weather conditions are expected to increase precipitation chances during Texas' dormant wildfire season this year.

The window of opportunity may be getting smaller for Bell County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 to make maintenance upgrades while simultaneously increasing the treating capacity at the Belton Lake Water Treatment Plant — upgrades that could cost up to $118 million.

City leaders fought a yearlong battle to keep a company from drilling wastewater disposal wells too close to their drinking water. This week, they settled with the company instead, in a decision they say was a last resort.

According to current data from the Lower Colorado River Authority, shockingly low amounts of water flowed into lakes Buchanan and Travis in 2023 compared to historical averages. For example, just 1,001 acre-feet of water flowed into the reservoirs in July 2023.

The note would allow the city of Marshall to finance the more than $14 million needed for the project from First Security Finance Inc., with the city covering the principal and interest on the promissory note with tax funds at a future date. The program would replace the majority of the water meters in the Marshall city limits and all of their related equipment with smart meter equipment from Performance Services.

According to El Paso Water, the $889 million budget includes needed investment in reliability and water supply. Customers will see an increase of $2.80 per month on the typical residential bill for water and wastewater charges, which totals a 4% increase over last year’s bill.

The Lower Valley Water District could soon build a treatment plant in Fabens. Residents in the area said the location is too close to their homes.

Coming off of the hottest year ever recorded in El Paso, the El Paso City Council on Wednesday agreed to pay a firm $1.2 million to help craft a detailed, wide-ranging plan to counter climate change across the region. El Paso voters in a November 2022 bond election granted the city $5 million to develop the region’s first comprehensive Climate Action Plan, and the four-year contract awarded this week to Chicago-based consultant AECOM is the first major step in the effort.

Texans, perhaps more than any other Americans, are bound by a shared sense of communal experience. That bonding tends to manifest in our reverence for barbecue, football, high-powered weaponry, and the blissful feeling that washes over us when we pick up tortillas at H-E-B and notice that the plastic bag is still warm. For the next 48 hours, at least, Texans will be bound by something not so great: severe weather.

A boil water notice has been issued for Sportsman Retreat and Wells Landing due to a leak repair. According to the Polk County Emergency Management, officials said on Friday at approximately 5 p.m., that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required Sportsman Retreat and Wells Landing to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption.