exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

A “triple-dip” La Niña resulted in extreme and exceptional drought for South Central Texas. In fact, 2022 was the second driest year in the Alamo City’s recorded history. But a gradual shift away from La Niña - into a more neutral climate pattern - has allowed for the first month of healthy rain since October 2021. 

The city released a new watering schedule that applies to automatic irrigation systems, soaker hoses, drip and hose-end sprinklers. Hand watering is allowed on any day.

The emergence of a new gaping sinkhole in Southeast Texas is dredging up decades-old questions about how much of a role oil and gas production plays in causing the ground to open up.

While not as well-documented as the link between oil and gas and earthquakes, the nexus between industry and sinkholes is of concern to some researchers who say drilling activity can help create gaping scars in the earth, posing risks to nearby communities.

 The Water and wastewater treatment market is witnessing steady growth owing to water scarcity around the globe. Driven by water scarcity, rising population, and rapid urbanization, the Global Water and Wastewater Treatment Equipment Market is Forecasted to reach nearly US$ 75Bn by 2028.

As summer approaches with warmer weather on the horizon, there’s one thing Texans should be wary of when stepping outside: snakes.  With over 100 species native to Texas alone, here’s what to know about the snake season.

The City of Lubbock is offering paid apprenticeship opportunities through its Field Services Summer Program, which stems from the Lubbock City Council’s focus on job training when allocating funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. 

“We hope to be able to get some young people in, and over a seven-week period, expose them to things maybe they haven’t seen before,” City Manager Jarrett Atkinson said. “It’s going to be a paid program. It would be just like having a part-time job. The difference is, for seven weeks, it is a 40-hour-a-week program.”

Some Central Texans have experienced drought conditions for over a year. In fact, over 500,000 people have been affected over the past year.

The Lights Out initiative starts on Saturday and goes through May 12. By turning nonessential lights off, people can help birds on their journey, as the bright lights from cities and towns can confuse them.

Texas has more than 7,000 water systems. A fraction of them self-reported that they lost 30 billion gallons of water due to broken pipes and leaks in 2021.

Wichita Falls is slightly ahead in the rain game with the chance of more precipitation this week. As of Monday, the city had received 7.97 inches of rain so far in 2023. The normal for this time of year is 7.23 inches.

Jacob’s Well in Texas’ Hill Country will remain off limits to swimmers for the “foreseeable future” as water levels and flow remain too low for safe swimming, the Hays County Parks Department announced Sunday. One of the state’s most beloved natural swim holes, Jacob’s Well is the second-largest fully submerged cave in Texas and maintains a crisp 68 degrees year-round. Most summers, hundreds visit the spring to dip into the blue-green waters that flow from an underground cavern system more than 140 feet deep.

Due to a loss of water pressure caused by a water main break, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the City of Murchison (PWS ID # 1070027) public water system to notify all customers located north of FM 773/Kathy Dr. intersection to boil their water prior to consumption

The recent thunderstorms and heavy rain has caused some fish to wash ashore along the San Antonio River Walk. There were some spots along Eagleland and the Mission Reach where fish were stranded due to the high flows [...]

The Texas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution recently recognized its Arlington-based Lucretia Council Cochran Chapter with a statewide conservation award for involvement in the City of Arlington’s Lake Arlington Native Plant and Pollinator Garden during 2022. The Lucretia Council Cochran Chapter of the DAR was awarded a first place Certificate of Appreciation at the Texas Society of the Daughter of the American Revolution statewide meeting earlier this year.

Champions of the state parks system are excited because two parks and one state natural area are under development. Each involved a mix of donations of private land and state investment.

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall near Galveston, Texas, as a Category 4 storm with around 20 feet of storm surge. Even though the hurricane caused more than $7 billion in damage, it soon became clear that the disaster could have been much worse: If the storm surge had struck the coast at a different angle, water might have funneled up the Houston ship channel and inundated the city’s all-important petrochemical hub, not to mention thousands of homes.

The summer of 2021 was a wet one in Central Texas, but that was the last time Texans saw those conditions. "If you look over the last 10 or 15 years, we've really seen kind of a swing back and forth between droughts and floods," said Aaron Abel with the Brazos River Authority.