exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Sugar Land City Council approved a $4.92 million contract to begin drainage reconstruction in the Covington West and Imperial Woods subdivisions during a Nov. 21 meeting. The project will construct reinforced box and concrete culverts along several roads. 

While the project has been on the radar for years, in December 2021, Montgomery County commissioners unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with Shenandoah to use $21 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide services to all homes in Tamina. The project is expected to take about three years to complete. John Bleyl with Bleyl Engineering said the project will add 57 fire hydrants to the community.

North Texas is forecast to have near-average temperatures but above-average rainfall this winter, per a new outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Why it matters: Severe weather has caused billions of dollars in property damage in Texas in recent years. The losses have led many insurance companies to increase premiums and cut their coverage.

A crisis is happening in the water industry. High rates of retirement and difficulty filling positions have resulted in a water and wastewater operator shortage in Central Texas and across the state.

This is on top of the critical water supply issues the KVUE Defenders have been following with an in-depth look at how communities are dealing with increasing demand for water as the population continues to grow amid ongoing drought conditions.

We are each faced with making personal choices every day, but those who are tasked with making decisions that affect others in life-altering ways bear the heavy burden of responsibility. For Central Texas water industry leaders during this past summer, we faced unprecedented challenges set by record-breaking heat coupled by continued population growth, leading to more strain on traditional water resources such as rivers, lakes and aquifers.

N.E.W. Water Supply customers in the San Augustine County area no longer need to boil water prior to personal consumption. N.E.W. Water Supply has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by this public water system used for drinking water or human consumption purposes. 

In northwest Tarrant County, community and county leaders are fighting plans for a landfill to be built near a natural spring. Opponents believe the project would drive up traffic and pollution in the Silver Creek area to the west of Lake Worth.

The lake has been filling back up for months, but since it was filled and hydroelectric operations were put back in service on Oct. 31, people immediately downstream from the dam say the water level of their section of the river has quickly started drying up. They compare the piddling flow to recent years when there was no dam to hold the river back and the decades before the dam failure.

The binational agency that operates the aging federal wastewater treatment plant at the U.S.-Mexico border said declaring the sewage crisis an emergency to expedite the facility's expansion may no longer be effective. But the California Coastal Commission said Wednesday that all steps are needed to remedy the uncontrolled discharge of raw sewage and other pollutants as soon as possible.

The Fairfield Lake State Park property has been valued at a “staggering” $418 million, about 5 times the state’s appraisal estimate. How will this impact the state’s eminent domain case?

The average date for San Antonio's first freeze is usually Nov. 30, but no freeze is in sight for this week. In fact, a freeze is not yet in sight for the month of November, according to some local forecasts.

A boil water notice has been issued for some residents in Polk County early Monday morning. According to a press release issued by the Lake Livingston Water Supply Corporation, the boil water notice was emitted due to an electrical repair in their system.

More than 1 million gallons of crude oil might have flowed into Gulf of Mexico waters this week following a pipeline leak off the Louisiana coast first reported on Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. It's unclear what exactly caused the leak or where it began, but the Coast Guard said it appears to have originated from the Main Pass Oil Gathering company's pipeline system near Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans. The 67-mile-long pipeline, owned by Houston-based Third Coast Infrastructure, was shut down on Thursday morning.

Larry Don Womack, chairman of the Fort-worth based American Pecan Council, said the past three years have been tough for Texas pecan farmers. In some areas of the state, the combination of drought, extreme heat and cold has killed 20% of trees. This year, crews are cutting branches of his dead pecan trees to make firewood.

Tomball has successfully restored its water quality following a water leak on Saturday morning. Residents can now drink tap water without boiling. Tomball officials said a major water leak overnight caused their water system pressure to drop.

In recent years, drought has been a big issue in California, while the Southeast remains one of the wettest regions in the country. But in the second half of 2023, those roles have somewhat reversed. California, aided by numerous heavy rainstorms and snow in the early part of the year, has come out of its years-long drought. 

A boil water notice has been issued for several communities in the northwestern portion of San Augustine County. Due to a major break in the line, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has required the N.E.W. Water Supply Corporation PWS # 2030034 to notify all customers on FM 711, FM 354, FM 3017, CR 202, CR 203, CR 205, CR 223, and the Harmony, Kellyville, Fountain Town and Woodland Acres communities to boil their water prior to consumption.