exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Hemp advocates promised the Texas Legislature the crop was drought resistant. The 2022 drought has proven otherwise. 

For the second time in four months, Killeen City Council members have received analyses on the city’s water infrastructure, including on Tuesday, when a consultant explained how its contract with Bell County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 is structured.

As drought and hot weather conditions persist, local city officials are working to ensure local water resources can keep up with demand—which is projected to more than double in Leander in the next decade. Because of this, major projects are underway at local facilities to expand water and wastewater treatment systems to meet the needs of a growing population and address any potential access issues.

The Texas coast is a hot spot for “nurdle” pollution, tiny plastic pellets created in the process of producing everyday products. But a plan to require proactive prevention of their release has been scrapped.

The Encina Restaurant on Davis Street in Oak Cliff is an example of a different development standard. There is very little concrete in the parking lot. Instead, there is gravel in the parking lot and landscaping that allow water to soak into the ground and slow water that leaves the site.

Even after recent rainfall, the overall lack of moisture continues to cause the ground to shift and shrink, destabilizing the city’s piping and causing structural tension. There were 700 main breaks in July. 

A new public works project is giving the term "flushing money down the toilet" new meaning for Omaha and surrounding communities. The Omaha City Council passed a Biogas Conditioning Project that'll turn the gas naturally created in the wastewater treatment process into a multimillion-dollar yearly revenue source. 

As the Western U.S. suffers under its worst drought in a millennium, the government of Texas, a state that faces its own unique set of dangers from extreme weather, is at last turning to deal with the threat that climate change poses to its long-term water supply. Texas’s situation is sufficiently dire that in July, a majority-Republican panel on the state legislature voted unanimously to require the state water planning board to consult with the state climatologist as it advises cities in planning to meet the state’s water needs in the future.  

Rainfall across Texas and cooler temperatures provided agricultural producers some relief from drought and extreme heat over recent weeks, but most areas remain in a moisture deficit, according to the Texas state climatologist and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomists.

Artist Adam Frank said that the waterfall serves the function of being a visual and auditory focal point. It is also cleaning and adding oxygen to the creek

The Rio Grande Valley’s water plan relies on reducing water usage to withstand this drought, but some have suggested a process called reclamation to treat stormwater and distribute it.

New renderings were unveiled Thursday for the Dallas Water Commons, a combination flood control, park and education project to transform a long-overlooked part of Dallas. Project Director Melanie Ferguson said it will be the first-of-its-kind cleansing wetland in the heart of a major U.S. city.

Jackson, Mississippi, is not the first U.S. city to have a water crisis – nor is it likely to be the last. However, the city's crisis has highlighted the ongoing fight for access to clean drinking water, which continues to be at risk for Americans across the country.

The city officials say although the Amistad reservoir increased nine inches of water, the recent rainfall has not been enough. Chief Heard recommended for the city to remain in stage two of the city’s water conservation plan, as the city has been in stage two since August.

The source of water for local municipalities varies, but despite current demand and drought conditions, Michael Thane, Round Rock Utilities Department director, said the city is well-positioned with expansion efforts on the way. Projections for expansions to draw 80 million gallons per day, or mgd, in 2030 show the city being able to meet peak demand of 43 mgd at full build-out.

The low lake levels are a big part of the die-off; a lack of rain means fewer plants in the lake producing oxygen for the fish. When a lake goes long periods without rainfall and then receives an abundance, followed by cloud cover for the coming days, it results in more negative things than positive.

Blue Hole Primary School was the first “One Water” school in Texas. The school was designed to reduce water usage and teach students about the importance of conserving water. 

Oil and gas companies produce 3.8 billion barrels of wastewater per year in the arid Permian Basin. A state consortium is trying to figure out whether it can be reused.