exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

The Abilene City Council approved a bid of more than $800,000 to the Honey Bee Water Line Replacement Project. The Honey Bee Road Water Line Replacement Project (CB-2320) will replace the current 10-inch pipeline with PVC pipe. The project also includes the relocation of water meters to the edge of new property lines and is a part of the preparation for roadway improvement to realign Honey Bee Road.

Jace Tunnell, reserve director at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, shared a video on his YouTube channel of an American eel he found while counting birds and looking for stranded sea turtles. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said American eels are freshwater fish that primarily live in rivers and estuaries but migrate to the ocean to spawn. While the females can grow up to four feet in length, the males are generally much smaller at 1 and a half feet.

The city of New Braunfels, New Braunfels Utilities and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority have worked together to create the One Water Roadmap, outlining the water management initiatives they would like to implement in the community.

Despite recent rains and cooler weather, Lake Waco’s level continues to plummet, expected to reach a 450-foot trigger point for Stage 3 water restrictions in mid-February. As harsh drought conditions have depleted the reservoir in recent years, officials look to favorable climate conditions and decreased water use as hopeful paths.

With a historic surplus to work with, the chairman of the Senate’s water committee wants to preserve existing water regulations, grants, and loan programs while developing new sources.

The city of Bertram and Capitol Aggregates Inc. were granted large increases to their groundwater use permits during a Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District Board of Directors meeting and public hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 25.  Bertram’s annual allowable groundwater use increased by 116 percent, from 366.5 acre-feet to 792.58 acre-feet. The increase was approved because the city acquired an additional 426 acres of groundwater rights from a landowner who borders its current well site.

Oak Ridge North approved a new fee schedule at the Jan. 23 meeting of city council that included the first water and sewer rate increases since 2015. After extensive discussion at its Jan. 9 meeting regarding how to restructure water and sewer fees for the city, the council agreed to move forward by increasing the base residential rate for water to $15 for up to 3,000 gallons of usage and increasing the tiered rate by $1.01 per 1,000 gallons.

A joint meeting of the Mineral Wells city council and the board governing Lake Palo Pinto about forming a two-county water authority with Parker County ended with a decision to form subcommittees to recommend details of the partnership. The meeting was attended by Palo Pinto County Judge Shane Long and Parker County Precinct 3 Commissioner Larry Walden, who said he was representing County Judge Pat Deen.

The maps affect portions of China Grove, Elmendorf, San Antonio and St. Hedwig along with some unincorporated areas of Bexar County. Residents are encouraged to examine the maps to determine if they are in a low-to-moderate or high-risk flood zone that would require a flood insurance policy.

Following in line with nearby cities, Sugar Land has approved a $9.4 million water metering upgrade across the city, to be completed by 2025. The project, which was approved at the Jan. 17 City Council meeting, is intended to reduce cost and increase accuracy through the use of AMI, or advanced metering infrastructure, according to a city news release.

Texas has been in a drought since September 2021, with Brazos River Authority reservoirs remaining below full capacity despite recent rainfall. The Brazos River Authority has three water supply reservoirs in the Brazos River Basin: Possum Kingdom Lake, Lake Granbury and Lake Limestone.

In an effort to fix the water issues, in 2019, the city was awarded a $10.8 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board to improve the water treatment plant, water distribution system, drainage system and water quality of the pond, but, the pandemic stalled major progress on the projects. In the city council meeting, civil engineer company, MRB Group, said they expect to have plans ready to get approval from Texas Water Development Board by Friday. After it is approved, it will follow same steps as the other projects and go through bidding, pre-construction and construction phases.

San Antonio could help lead the way as the Texas legislature tackles water issues through a new caucus and a surplus of state dollars. That’s the view of SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente, himself a former legislator who focused on water issues, and who now serves as chairman of the Texas Water Foundation, the organization behind the creation of the first-ever House Water Caucus.

Olga Ramos, a county commissioner in Maverick County, Texas, tells Axios in an email that there are more than 19 colonias in her precinct alone — and most are without access to safe water. A new pilot initiative led by SOURCE Global is aiming to mitigate this by installing solar-powered tech that produces clean drinking water for about 500 colonia households across Hueco Tanks and Quemado, which are in El Paso County and Maverick County.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), about 10 to 12 inches of rainfall is needed across Central Texas in order to reverse drought in one month's time. By the end of February, if Central Texas is tacking on consistent rainfall events with a half-inch to 2 inches of widespread precipitation coming in, it is possible the region could see a significant easement of drought. 

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a water boil notice for the city of Rio Hondo. A water line break on South Robertson Street is the cause for the notice, according to a press release. The notice is expected to last at least until Monday.

The time is fast approaching for residents living along Lake McQueeney and Meadow Lake in Guadalupe County to prepare for drawdown of those bodies of water. Both will be lowered in preparation for repairs on aging spill gates within the Guadalupe Valley Lakes system, Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Senior Deputy General Manager Darrell Nichols said during the Jan. 18 GBRA meeting. Drawdown will begin March 27, he said.

Droughts, parched farms, ranches and instructions to water lawns less frequently are part of life in Texas. Unfortunately, so too are aging, neglected water pipes and boil water notices. Last year, Texas officials issued boil water notices roughly 3,000 times to alert residents that water in their distribution system could be unsafe to drink. That’s up from 1,500 boil water advisories in Texas in 2015, a more than twofold increase from 650 in 2008, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Mertzon, Texas is seeing a growing population which is causing old infrastructure to need repairs. Their Waste Water Treatment facility is getting repairs and rebuilds after receiving funding from the Texas Water Development Board.