exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

The city of Laredo held a press conference on February 22 regarding the water situation in seven areas affected in the city. It’s been four days since many in the community have been without water. At the press conference, Interim City Manager Samuel Keith Selman outlined the areas affected and the work done to improve it. In order to restore services, Selman asked constituents to help conserve water.

Numerous flood protection projects will move forward in the Bay Area this year, including a multibillion-dollar regional coastal project as well as several projects in League City. The Gulf Coast Protection District, an entity aimed to leverage funding for flood control projects, was created by the Texas Legislature last summer. Now, officials are considering how the district can help fund flood mitigation projects along the Texas coast.

City improvements dominated the agenda of the Cottonwood Shores City Council meeting Thursday, Feb. 17, with water and wastewater updates topping the list.  When that work is completed, which should happen by October, the city plans to turn its resources and attention to street repairs, promised City Administrator J.C. Hughes.

The Trinity River Authority will be conducting a sewer line smoke test from Feb. 21-25 at the intersection of Bobcat Boulevard and Schooling Road in Roanoke that may affect surrounding neighborhoods. According to a news release from the city of Roanoke, the Trinity River Authority will blow air and white smoke through manhole openings in the testing area as a response to reports of odor concerns in the neighborhood.

 Austin Water is still in the middle of their own two-week investigation of what caused the Feb. 5 boil water notice. 

Outgoing Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said turbidity inside one of the water basins cascaded out of control, sending unfiltered water into the drinking water system. "What we are hearing is that all the alarms and protocols were followed but yet the turbidity levels were not followed up on to take action to reduce them until many hours after they were started?" asked Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter at Thursday’s council meeting. Meszaros responded with "essentially yes."

Plans to develop 70 acres adjacent to the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve into a mega entertainment complex went off course last night when the Environmental Commission unanimously voted to recommend denying the request to extend water and wastewater service to the area. The yet-to-be-constructed Violet Crown Amphitheater is centered around a venue that could host a whopping 20,000 attendees, but plans for the complex also include two residential towers, office and retail space, a driving range, two nightclubs, a pool club, a distillery, a traditional dance hall, and two large parking garages.

Water systems across the state have been racing to upgrade their systems after millions of Texans struggled with water outages during last year's winter storm. By March 1, utilities must submit plans to the state showing how they'll keep water flowing from your tap if disaster hits again.

Effective February 1, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District Board of Directors voted to move the Jacobs Well Groundwater Management Zone into 20% Curtailment drought status. Jacobs Well spring flow is the district’s trigger for drought curtailment in the JWGMZ, because it is an indicator of groundwater storage within the management zone.

We told you yesterday about how Sherman is working to improve city services to prevent outages in winter storms. Denison is taking a different approach. With another winter storm approaching, the city of Denison is looking to keep the water running. Public works brought a purchase proposal to city council Tuesday night.

“The goal is to get approval for the funding of the generators. It’s for 3 generators. One for our water plant, one for our pump station and one for one of our water towers,” said Carrie Jones, Director of Public Works.

The Lewisville City Council unanimously approved the funds needed to demolish the city’s longstanding water tower on I-35 E. The $122,767 project includes the removal and disposal of the 500,000-gallon, all-steel, torispherical leg, elevated storage tank, according to the Feb. 21 council agenda item. The Fighting Farmers Tower will be taken down sometime in early March and will take two to three days to demolish.

If you’ve ever had to hold your breath while driving, walking, or running near Cumberland Road, then you may already be aware of a foul smell. There have been complaints of a bad odor coming from the City of Tyler’s south side wastewater treatment plant system off West Cumberland Road. Meaghan Alston lives near the treatment plant.

For the city of Sherman, the next decade could be a time of significant growth with new housing starts, major developments and the proposed $29 billion expansion of Texas Instruments just on the horizon. However, with this growth come growing needs for water, sewer and other utilities that the city of Sherman is preparing to meet. Sherman city leaders met to discuss and consider the more than $161 million in proposed near-tern water and wastewater projects that will help the city meet the needs of TI and other future users.

 The City of Corpus Christi said that on Monday Feb. 21, Corpus Christi will be adding water from the Colorado River to its water blend as a water source change. This means, the City of Corpus Christi's water supply will now come from four different water sources; the Colorado River, Lake Texana, Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon. This water blend will be used regularly moving forward, and the city said it will be used monthly for a minimum of three days.

In her first public comments about the matter, Tarrant Regional Water District board member Marty Leonard denied that her legal challenge to a proposed Fort Worth wastewater treatment plant near her property was a conflict of interest with her position on the board.