exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

On May 20, more than 30 men, women and teens, most from the Centex Bass Hunters Club, the Texas Anglers Bass Club and the Lonestar Junior Bassmasters, gathered along the shoreline at Belton Lake’s Temple Lake Park to participate in the assembly and emplacement of 17 Mossback Trophy Tree kits to help improve the lake’s fish habitat. Emplacement of such artificial fish habitat helps replace habitat lost as Belton Lake ages, and gives anglers known locations to target cover-loving species of fish.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission unanimously voted to authorize Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) executive director to take all necessary steps to purchase approximately 5,000 acres in Freestone County including Fairfield Lake State Park, according to a press release. Fairfield Lake State Park is a 1,460-acre park within the roughly 5,000-acre property.

Texas Tech is working to help farmers determine exactly when they need to irrigate by testing products that measure soil moisture. The study is funded by a nearly $250,000 grant from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). Researchers will be testing out sensors that can tell a farmer what is happening underground.

The City of Bridgeport plans to issue approximately $12 million in certificates of obligation (CO’s) to improve the city’s infrastructure. The Bridgeport City Council Monday unanimously authorized the publication of intention to issue the bonds to upgrade the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure and fund road improvements. Approximately $8 million of the debt issuance will be devoted for water and wastewater improvements, with the remaining $4 million used for drainage and street upgrades.

Brazos County commissioners recently received an annual report update from the Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District with highlights from 2022 of water exports in and around the county. Alan Day, general manager of the BVGCD, presented the 2022 annual report to the commissioners during a May 2 meeting, and said of the number of wells that permitted in 2022, 30 wells required meters, 10 were agricultural, seven were industrial and 13 were public water supply.

One of San Antonio's closest neighbors has issued a boil water notice starting on Sunday, May 21 until Tuesday, May 23. Due to precautionary reasons, the City of Lytle has temporarily issued a water boil notice for the area as officials make repairs on the public water main system. According to Mayor Ruben Gonzalez, Lytle started decreasing water pressure around 9:40 p.m. on Saturday, May 20.

While city departments are still working through the impacts of a May 3 ransomware attack, the FBI in Dallas says a criminal investigation into the breach that has hampered municipal operations for weeks is ongoing. Though some say operations have returned close to normal, some other city services are still hindered because of system outages. 

Following one of the hottest summers on record, lawmakers have set an ambitious target: By 2033, they want to bump up the state’s water supply by an amount equal to three of the largest reservoirs in the state.

Amarillo’s drainage system is unique compared to much of the country, as it uses playa lakes to contain water. Water pumps underneath the playa lakes were updated a couple of years ago so the city can now move water from an isolated area to a flowing channel like east Amarillo creek.

The Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to police water pollution, ruling that the Clean Water Act does not allow the agency to regulate discharges into some wetlands near bodies of water. The court held that law covers only wetlands “with a continuous surface connection” to those waters, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote for five justices.

A microbrewery in Georgia offers Revival Lager, a beer made from recycled wastewater, as part of “potable reuse” efforts for water conservation.

The North Texas Texas Municipal Water District celebrated the official commissioning of the Leonard Water Treatment Plant with a ceremonial ribbon cutting. The plant will treat water from the recently completed Bois d’Arc Lake, the first major reservoir to be built in the state in over three decades.

One of the animal ambassadors from the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler is set to be featured in a new set of Forever stamps by the USPS.

The collection will be released on May 19 and will feature an image of an Attwater’s prairie chicken from the Caldwell Zoo.