exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Farmers and longtime residents of a small Texas community fear their land could be washed away by the government. 

As of Monday, the combined level of lakes Arrowhead and Kickapoo had receded 0.6 inch to 65.8 percent of capacity. Although the lakes are technically above the Stage 1 level, the Wichita Falls City Council has not yet acted to removed the lowest level of restrictions.

A drop in the population of monarchs in Mexico over the winter means you may see fewer of them flying back through Texas. The reasons for its general decline are many. They include habitat loss in the U.S. from farming and development, insecticide use, destruction of the monarchs’ winter grounds in Mexico, extreme weather and climate change.

City officials believe the reddish-brown color to the water is related to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s edict that Sweeny stop treating its water with phosphates. Sweeny is petitioning the state regulator to reverse that decision.

As Dallas continues to host national events and bring in thousands of new visitors, the city is looking at ways to clean up. A new program is about halfway through its testing phase, picking up trash along service roads, dumping sites and other hot spots.

As the state of Texas booms in population local governments in smaller rural parts of the state struggle to find workers and if they have a stagnant or shrinking tax base it’s difficult to keep up with the cost of aging infrastructure without the help of federal support.

“The smaller cities are the ones who are struggling the most because they’re not as well populated and don’t have the source of revenue as the mid to larger cities do,” said Jeff Cartwright, public works director for city of Melissa.

Following a yearlong study of Friendswood’s water system in 2022, a firm recommended $3 million in improvements, including new water lines and storage tanks. Friendswood also has identified $60 million worth of water and wastewater projects to take on during the next two decades to maintain its utility services and accommodate development, according to the request for qualifications.

Due to inflationary effects as well as projected maintenance projects, the Bell County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 is proposing a higher budget for water treatment and wastewater processing. The water district is looking at a budget for raw water treatment of around $10.3 million, up from the $9.46 million from a year ago, and higher than the projected $8.99 million actual budget for the previous year.

Last July, the City of Denison got the ball rolling to push for an impact fee for water, wastewater, and roadways. "When you have a big large growth spurt that comes into the community then you’re gonna have to increase your capacity of water and sewer, so the impact fee is put on those new individuals that come into the community cause they should pay for it not the existing taxpayer,” said Tony Kaai, Denison  Development Alliance President.

You can become a River Warrior and get trained with the San Antonio River Authority.

The City of Lubbock Water Utilities announced that April is the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conversation, hosted by the Wyland Foundation. Mayor Tray Payne joined other mayors across the nation and asked residents to pledge to conserve water.

Wastewater Treatment Plant is using goats and sheep for weed and vegetation control instead of pesticides. Operators did not want to use herbicides because it could expose livestock to toxic chemicals - and it costs thousands of dollars more than letting goats graze.

The utility intends to move forward with all but four recommendations as the department works to enhance resiliency, Austin Water director said.

Fishing is a favorite pastime of many East Texans and depending on where you head out on the water, you may reel in quite the surprise.

In the first nationwide assessment of lead-based water lines, the EPA estimated that more than 647,000 water lines in Texas are made of lead — about 7% of the state’s total. The EPA estimates that 9.2 million lead service lines exist in the United States. Florida likely has the highest proportion of lead-based lines, about 13%, followed by Illinois (11%), Ohio (8%), Pennsylvania (7.5%) and then Texas (7%).

The U.S. Drought Monitor in April rated about 45 percent of Texas as severely dry, 20 percent is extremely dry, and 4 percent is exceptionally dry, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. All of those metrics are larger than they were a month ago — in particular zones of “exceptional drought” in Central Texas and the Texas panhandle that stand out on the drought monitor maps like swollen purple bruises.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has issued fish consumption advisories for several lakes in East Texas and beyond. These advisories can be issued for mercury, ciguatoxin, dioxins, dieldrin and polychlorinated biphenyls being present in fish populations.

Currently, the city of Waco uses Lake Waco as its major water source, but as lake levels continue dropping from the drought the Brazos River could be the solution. Officials say even with rain in recent months, the downpours aren’t making a big difference in getting Waco out of the drought.

Grab your fishing gear because it’s almost time for catfish stocking season for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Neighborhood Fishin’ program. TPWD will stock catfish in 18 lakes across Texas starting April 21 through October 27, including two lakes in San Antonio.

The Austin Watershed Protection Department realized it needed more data to understand how firefighting affects local waterways, so it went to every fire between Feb. 23, 2022 and Oct. 28, 2022 (a total of 84). It found 17 of those fires had runoff that went into a storm sewer or waterway, and only one led to WPD needing to use dechlorination tablets to offset the effects.

With an eye toward improving two drainage systems along McLain and Gregory boulevards as well as Pine Meadow Drive and Cravens Road, Missouri City officially authorized its support to receive approval from the General Land Office for $5 million in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation funding. Together, the two projects are expected to reduce ponding and improve driver safety in a low- to median-income area, a key criteria of the application project.