exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

California, Texas and Arizona scored the highest on a new ranking of nationwide water efficiency policies, while Mississippi, Alaska and the Dakotas landed in the lowest spots, a new report has found. Water services in most U.S. states are woefully inefficient, even as the impacts of widespread drought undermine water affordability and reliability, a new report has found.

The four contracts are for various water and wastewater projects identified in the city's recently updated water and wastewater master plan. At $9.5 million, the largest of the four contracts is for the construction of four new pumps and other improvements at the Shiloh Pump Station, which will increase the station's capacity from 3.27 million gallons per day to 5.7 million.

Due to a planned repair to the water main, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the Dean Water Supply Corporation public water system to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption such as washing hands/face, brushing teeth and drinking. Residents are asked to purchase bottled water or obtain water from another suitable source for human consumption purposes.

A woman in Galveston Bay found quite an unusual creature while walking along on the shore earlier this month. According to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, snapper eels can grow up to 180 centimeters, or up to nearly six feet long. They’re carnivores and typically feed on shrimps, crabs or bony fish.

Aging infrastructure and limited investments have left Texas’ water infrastructure fragile, especially in rural communities, where a lack of human resources compounds the problem. Last year, there were more than 3,000 boil-water notices issued across the state. 

City Council authorized an agreement with Garver, LLC, for engineering and technical services for the design, bidding and construction of two projects during its Jan. 9 meeting. Garver presented to Friendswood City Council on Oct. 3, 2022, a list of water-related projects it identified as needs for the city. Friendswood will now be moving forward on two projects included in that update.

The map was last updated in 2010 using land use data from 2004 and rainfall estimates data based on 1960s data. With new rainfall, land use and topography data for Bexar County, the river authority, acting in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is officially launching the lengthy process of updating the map.

Heading into 2023, the city of West University Place is advancing flood control and water projects, including a feasibility study for work along Poor Farm Ditch, a new water line along Law Street and a variety of drainage improvements. Whether the city should enclose Poor Farm Ditch north of University Boulevard has circulated the community for more than 15 years, City Manager Dave Beach said. 

After the advisory went into effect late Monday, city officials say they hope to get TCEQ to rescind the notice by Wednesday morning.

The Oak Ridge North City Council discussed plans to increase the water and sewer rates for residential and commercial users within the city for the first time since 2015. Jeffrey Bishop, client manager for Quiddity Engineering, came before the council at its Jan. 9 meeting to review the schedule of fees for the city and recommended across the board increases for water and sewer usage.

Nearly a year and a half after its initial arrival to Texas, drought conditions persist across the High Plains and larger U.S. Great Plains into the new year as La Niña patterns linger. La Niña — a term experts use to describe a climate pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean — shifts rainfall and cooler temperatures toward the Northern U.S., bringing drier and warmer conditions to the South.

Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) reported that 2022 was the worst drought year for the state since 2011. Little precipitation is causing Hays County and surrounding areas to be in a continuous drought. 

Thanks to La Niña, Austin last year came up about 10 inches short of its normal annual rainfall, making 2022 the city's fifth-driest year so far this century. Even though we're in the third-straight La Niña winter this year, hope for more much-needed rain lies on the horizon, according to forecasters. 

Granite Shoals is on track to complete major utility upgrades using a $7 million bond that was approved in November 2019. The new water tower is the most obvious structural improvement to the city’s utilities. The list of upgrades also includes a new raw water intake on Lake LBJ, additional water storage and water treatment equipment, major equipment repairs, and badly needed distribution pipe replacements. Most of these projects are expected to be done by July.

Officials said the updates, which were approved throughout 2022, will serve as a map to help ensure that residents receive adequate water services as the city population increases in the next 20 years. Utilities Department Director Michael Thane said all of the plan updates will help city staff examine the existing state of infrastructure used to render some utility services.

The price of drinking water is rising across the nation, including in El Paso. El Paso Water’s Public Service Board recently approved an increase of $9.03 per month on the typical residential bill for water, wastewater and stormwater charges. 

The City of Tyler said customers of Tyler Water Utilities may be experiencing a spike in Geosmin, a taste and odor compound, in their drinking water. The city said the water is safe to drink and continues to meet or exceed all federal and state water quality standards.

The Lower Colorado River Authority plans to begin refilling Lake Marble Falls on Monday, Jan. 16. The lake has been lowered for more than three months to allow for work on the intake structure at Starcke Dam.

The budget, rates, and fees will go into effect at the start of the fiscal year, which begins on March 1.

“We have some very specific needs to make progress on new water supply projects and to expand our Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant,” said El Paso Water President and CEO John Balliew. “East Side growth has pushed the plant to a threshold that requires an urgent capacity increase so we can serve the growing number of homes and businesses in the area.”

Brazosport Water Authority officials hope to be back in production today. A supply water line break at the facility’s fence line caused the water plant to be shut down Monday.

As new growth comes into the community, the city of Sherman is taking steps to ensure it has the resources to serve its new residents. The Sherman City Council recently approved a $11.22 million contract with Archer Western for construction of an expansion to the city’s water treatment plant.

Residents of Freeport and Brazoria should boil their water as a precaution after a broken pipe at the Brazosport Water Authority plant disrupted supply to the provider’s customers.