exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

It’s no secret that dairies do indeed use a lot of groundwater, especially at the beginning of operations. Thanks to advancements in modern technology, dairies nowadays can recycle groundwater and actually reuse the same water between three to four times thus cutting down on demand.

The city of La Vernia will seek certificates of obligation totaling approximately $1.25 million to address drainage issues in the city. The La Vernia City Council approved to pursue this method of financing, instead of general revenue bonds, during its Oct. 12 meeting, following a presentation by Victor Quiroga with Specialized Public Finance.

City Public Works director Steve Bartlett presented an ordinance amendment to help reduce the pollutant discharge to their sewers.

He explained the existing ordinance had to be updated to meet state standards for large-scale industries. The department completed a six-month test to help determine how much material, such as chemicals and metals, can be allowed to be dumped into the city’s sewers.

With concerns being raised by vocal opponents of fluoride in drinking water, the Dallas City Council's quality of life committee heard from a panel of experts about the practice that began in Dallas in 1966. Dr. Mary Swift, the past president of the Dallas County Dental Society, explained that a recent claim that fluoride is associated with a lower IQ is unsubstantiated.

The San Antonio River Authority began a project to remove trees and grasses along the Mission Reach this week, work that will continue through early spring. The tree removal helps to manage flooding by promoting effective stormwater channeling and helping provide proactive protection for surrounding infrastructure, the river authority stated in a flyer it mailed out earlier this month to more than 7,000 residents within a half-mile radius of the project.

The upgrades will take place during fiscal year 2024 as a part of the city's community investment plan. More than $21 million is budgeted for wastewater projects.

The Texas Hill Country has seen a lot of growth over the last few years. The growth has left many municipalities along the I-35 corridor struggling to adapt. Bee Cave, a suburb of Austin, is one of many cities fighting to hold on to the area's natural beauty.

Texas has thousands of private dams, but a former oil executive’s application to build one on the South Llano River would be the first in the watershed for recreational use. Opponents fear it would harm the river’s health and encourage more private dams.

The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex grew by 1.2 million new residents over the last decade, and the signs of growth are easy to see. Corporate headquarters, shopping areas and neighborhood after neighborhood fill in what empty areas we have left. What goes unnoticed are billions of dollars invested nationally every year to offset impacts to wetlands and streams through a system called mitigation banking.

The fund will provide a $1 billion fund to obtain and develop new parks across Texas. On Nov. 7, Texans can vote on Proposition 14, which if approved, would provide funding for new parks without creating a new tax.

Granbury City Council voted unanimously on Oct. 17 to award the East Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvement project to Gracon Construction, Inc., in the amount of $34,112,000. City Manager Chris Coffman explained to the public this project had been rebid and the city has a “great working relationship” with Gracon following the completion of a previous project.

Do you know what you’re swimming in? Allen Berthold, interim director of the Texas Water Resources Institute, has a pretty good idea. At this year’s South Texas Farm and Ranch Show, Berthold will give a presentation on local water issues with an emphasis on the quality of the area’s surface water. In his work at TWRI, Berthold and his colleagues head projects that address in-stream water-quality deficiencies and help guide local stakeholders through the watershed protection planning process.

John Tomacek, an associate professor of wildlife studies at Texas A&M University and a wildlife specialist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, told the local newspaper that black bears aren't being hunted anymore, which is causing the animals to dip back into areas where they once roamed free. The counties with confirmed black bear sightings are Kaufman County (east of Dallas), Menard County (northwest of Fredericksburg), and Kimble County (northwest of Kerrville).

Comal County just north of San Antonio is one of the fastest growing counties in the United States but growth can lead to problems. In the town of Bulverde, a huge wastewater treatment plant could soon be built, and some residents fear their way of life may be washed away.

The city of Alice recently broke ground on a state-of-the-art water treatment plant that will provide a key resource for the future: a safe, dependable, and independent water source, delivered at a guaranteed price. When complete in the second quarter of 2024, the treatment plant will produce up to 2.7 million gallons of fresh water daily from an unwanted and abundant resource: the brackish water in the Jasper Aquifer.

Hewitt’s water rates remained unchanged between 2013 and 2020, when the city adopted a five-year plan with annual increases that started in 2021, City Manager Bo Thomas said during the meeting. The plan is intended to raise more revenue to maintain and improve Hewitt’s water systems in the face of continued growth in the city, Thomas said.

Texas’ aging water and wastewater infrastructure — already in disrepair and losing billions of gallons of water a year — is facing a second and equally ominous threat: a worker shortage. An estimated 37% of water and 31% of wastewater workers will retire by 2028, according to a 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office. And the next generation isn’t refilling their ranks.

This fall looks to be wetter than our summer, but we still may not receive enough rain to break this significant drought.