exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

A raw, untreated water sample from a well on San Antonio’s North Side during standard water quality sampling indicated the presence of E. coli bacteria, according to San Antonio Water System. Officials said the well, located at 6912 West Ave. near NW Military Drive, is part of the former BexarMet system. SAWS shut down the Castle Hills well immediately based on the test result and will inspect, disinfect and retest before the well is put back into use, officials said.

New Braunfels Utilities will close the 100 Block of East San Antonio Street between Market Avenue and the downtown Main Plaza Tuesday through Thursday to allow water operations crews to complete wastewater infrastructure replacement. The area will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to allow crews to maneuver equipment and materials safely. 

The City of Gatesville said its crews are seeing an increase in sewer stop ups caused by people dumping grease down the drain.

City manager Bill Parry said in the last few months they’ve seen an average of 30 stopped-up sewer a month. Grease starts off as liquid when it’s being cooked. But soon after it is dumped into the drain it cools down and solidifies to clog the sewer lines. This makes sewer stop ups even more common in cooler months. But it’s not just restaurants causing the problem, crews have seen the same issues in residential areas of the city.

The Corpus Christi City Council held its first meeting of the year on Jan. 11. Agenda items included outlining MLK Day of Service Events, giving a pothole repair update, addressing wastewater lift station upgrades, approving the purchase of pedestrian safety devices, and assigning funds to 14 city park upgrades. Replacing two wastewater lift stations located on Morgan Avenue and Wooldridge Road will cost $5.5 million, the council learned. Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, upgrades include electrical work and replacing pipes, valves, and all pumps.

After running against the clock for 10 years, the city of San Benito is on track to complete a multimillion-dollar project aimed at overhauling its sewer system to comply with a state order stemming from a series of sewage spills about 12 years ago, officials said Tuesday. As part of a 2012 agreement, San Benito is working to comply with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s order to upgrade its sewer lines and lift stations by March 2023 or face harsh fines, penalties and corrective action. Now, officials face a manpower shortage as they race to complete the project, Mayor Rick Guerra said, referring to the nationwide labor shortage.

The Lower Colorado River Authority has limited large-scale dredging on the Highland Lakes to four zones where industrial operators may remove, process, stockpile and resell sediment from the lake bottoms. Three are on Lake LBJ, a fourth is on Lake Buchanan. But the geographical limits have done little to alleviate concerns of Hill Country residents — even those whose homes aren’t directly adjacent to the locations. Phil Wilson, general manager of the LCRA, selected the zones last month after the river authority’s board opted to open all six lakes in the sprawling region — Buchanan, Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls, Travis and Austin — to commercial dredging.

A petition to stop Olney city leaders from building a new 13 million dollar water treatment plant has 89 signatures from residents. The proposal to replace the current 100 - year-old water treatment plant has been a hot-button issue for months but it wasn’t until the last town hall meeting on Dec. 10 that residents decided to take action. The petition needed 5 percent of registered voters in Olney to sign up to hopefully put a stop to a certificate of obligation that could be used to fund the project without the vote of residents.

The City of Nacogdoches confirms that the boil water notice has been rescinded as of Jan. 17. 

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Due to loss of pressure, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the City of Nacogdoches, PWS #1740003 public water system to notify all customers in the section of Nacogdoches, from the area North of 259 to Central Heights to boil their water prior to consumption as a precaution (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc.).

As promised, the Lower Colorado River Authority delivered on designating areas on the Highland Lakes as open to commercial dredging, but only after a company completes the application process and is approved. The LCRA created four zones — three on Lake LBJ and one on Lake Buchanan — where commercial dredging under Tier III of the Highland Lakes Dredge and Fill Ordinance could take place.  A company interested in dredging in those areas must still go through the application process with the LCRA as well as any other applicable entities such as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

The Round Rock City Council unanimously voted Jan. 13 to move forward with a plan to lower wastewater rates and maintain current water rates for residential customers over the next three years. Wastewater volume rates, which are charged for usage above the base rate, will decrease by 8.8%. For residential customers using 10,000 gallons of water and 8,000 gallons of wastewater per month, the change will create $2.40 in savings per month. The City conducts periodic reviews of the rates charged to customers to ensure the City is recovering costs needed to fund capital improvement programs, increasing system demands and operating pressures.

New Year’s resolutions are often fleeting with reduced interest as time passes. The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) is instead kicking off the New Year with a challenge to commit your involvement to ensuring the future of water in Texas. And you can start by familiarizing yourself with the most significant water topics in Texas, including the strategies and projects outlined to meet Texas’ projected water supply needs through 2070. The TWDB just released the graphically enhanced version of the 2022 State Water Plan, which was adopted by the Board in July 2021.

As Fort Worth attracts thousands of new residents each year, the Tarrant Regional Water District is tasked with estimating how much water will be required to support population growth, not just a decade from now, but 50 years into the future. By 2070, demand for water across 11 north central Texas counties will grow by at least 54 percent, according to a 2020 analysis published by TRWD officials. That reality has led the water district to invest millions into the Cedar Creek Wetlands project, a water reuse facility that is expected to provide 80 million gallons of water per day and support an additional 560,000 people in the Fort Worth area.

On the banks of the San Antonio River on the South Side, near the Hot Wells park and VFW Boulevard, a tractor is shredding trees and leaving mulch in its wake. It chomps them up quickly and spits out wooden pieces, layering a portion of the river slope before moving on to the next trunk. So far, yards of trees have been reduced to mulch, while the bank on the other side of the river is completely cleared. Before the tractors, this area looked like a little forest, with trees and shrubs so dense in parts that passersby could make out the river only through occasional cracks in the vegetation.

River biologists hope to see a return of freshwater mussels to the San Antonio River, and their methodology is shocking — literally. Chest-deep in the Cibolo Creek, aquatic biologist Zoe Nichols tried to electrocute a fish. “This is a backpack electrofisher,” she explained, pointing at a ghostbuster-esque box. “Basically it just gently stuns the fish so we can catch them.” “It kind of draws them out from cover or from whatever habitat we're seeking them from,” said Chris Vaughn, senior aquatic biologist for the San Antonio River Authority.