exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

After consistent rainfall over the past several months and cooler weather, the Brazos Valley drought conditions look much better.

Brazos County is no longer placed under any drought level. 

Aquifers beneath the Permian Basin are slowly running out. Recycling “produced water” should help to slow the decline.

The project aims at draining floodwaters from an area stretching from the Hidalgo County line to Tamm Lane, Dustin Moore, an engineer, said. As they design the project, officials are planning to widen culverts while installing high-capacity pumps at five points across the area, Galvan said.

The city of Katy's water utilities customer rates will increase from $2.19 per 1,000 gallons of groundwater pumped to $2.35, effective Jan. 15. A Sept. 22 notice to the utility districts, the cities of Houston and Katy, and nondistrict/noncity well owners within the WHCRWA stated these increases will fund water supply projects necessary to meet the Harris Galveston Subsidence District's groundwater reduction regulations.

The City of Lubbock has agreed to sell Wolfforth clean water. The 25 year deal will start in June 2023. The contract includes three years with a maximum of half a million gallons a day.

Hutto's water and wastewater master plans are poised to receive their first updates in several years. Together, the two plans propose more than $600 million in water and wastewater improvements over the next 25 years, including treatment plant expansions and new pipelines.

Ike erased beachfront neighborhoods, causing $30 billion in damage. But with so much of the nation’s petrochemical industry in the Houston-Galveston corridor, it could have been even worse. That close call inspired marine science professor Bill Merrell to first propose a massive coastal barrier to protect against a direct hit. Now, the National Defense Authorization Act includes authorizations for a $34 billion plan that borrows from Merrell’s idea.

Lead has been found in the drinking water of several San Antonio ISD campuses, according to district officials. SAISD Director Of Operations Ahmad Shariff said all drinking spouts had been shut off since COVID-19 precautions were set two years ago, so no student or staff member has been exposed. The district is working with The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in a program called Voluntary Lead Testing in School and Child Care Drinking Water.

Friendswood is nearing completion on its first Hurricane Harvey relief project with a number of other projects set to be completed in 2023. Four of the five buildings that will be demolished to create the Frenchmen's Creek Greenspace have closed with the fifth closing in late December or January. Following demolition, hydromulching and the transfer of the green space title, the project will finish in mid- to late spring 2023, Haritos said. It will be the city’s first Hurricane Harvey Community Development Block Grant-funded project to close out.

Arsenic levels in water that exceed government standards, and possibly endanger health, have come under assault from locals. The Brazos River Authority, McLennan County and multiple water supply companies are pursuing a solution, and several options rest on the table.

After 200 Sugar Land houses flooded during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, drainage emerged as a top priority for the city, city officials said. Sugar Land voters approved a $90.76 million general obligation bond in November 2019, which included $47.6 million for drainage under Proposition A. Three years later, following a pandemic and rising construction costs, the city has checked four of 10 projects off the list.

A panel of water experts discussed new water conservation technology at the Williamson County Growth Summit on Dec. 15. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Williamson County’s population reached 643,000 in 2021, up more than 50% since 2010. In the next 20 years, the county is projected to have 1 million people residing in it—spurred by new industrial parks going up and tech companies moving in.

The Pearland City Council discussed the scope of the potential $106.17 million bond that would fund sweeping drainage improvements throughout the city. The Citizens Drainage Bond Advisory Committee provided an update to the council at the meeting, with committee Chair Seth Thompson recommending 14 projects totaling $106.17 million to be funded by a potential May 2023 bond program.

Last month, water district officials predicted a dry winter and increasing drought threat amid the worst drought conditions in Texas since 2011. Now, the reservoirs serving Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield and other cities in 11 counties are back up to about 82% full, according to the district’s Dec. 14 water resources report. 

The city of Shenandoah and the Old Tamina Water Supply Corporation have reached an agreement for the city to provide water and sewage service to residents of Tamina. According to the agreement provided by the city, Tamina residents do not have sanitary sewer services, an operating well or a water system that can provide fire protections.

Cities and farmers in Central Texas used to pump groundwater from the Edwards Aquifer much more freely—draining local springs and rivers and depriving several endangered species of a habitat. In the 1990s, the Sierra Club sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on these creatures’ behalf.

When it rains it floods for many in Bellmead, even brief rain causes issues for some in the city. Now the city is looking at a flat rate to charge home and business owners to improve drainage.

The City of Rockdale will be taking the Mill Street Ground Storage Tank, the Mill Street Elevated Tower and the Mill Street Water Treatment Plant offline during the next eight weeks. The City says this is because of “badly-needed maintenance and repair.”