exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Starting today, San Antonio Water Service customers are under Stage Two water restrictions. The ten-day rolling average at the Edwards Aquifer fell below 650 feet Monday morning, prompting City Manager Erik Walsh to declare the restrictions on Monday afternoon.

After many years, the City of Kemp eagerly celebrates a ground breaking ceremony for their new water treatment facility April 16. Due to inclement weather, the ceremony was moved downtown to city hall. Pictured is Senior Project Manager for Urban Infraconstruction LLC.

As the debate over the pumping of groundwater and subsidence continues across Montgomery County, the Conroe City Council will consider a groundwater lease with a national company to build an industrial well and pump 10 million gallons of water a month from an aquifer to be bottled and sold.

The necessary actions were taken by Prairie Grove WSC to restore the water quality and has provided TCEQ with laboratory test results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling prior to use.

A water boil order in place in Falfurrias since Thursday has been lifted. The city's Facebook post has a notice that the water boil order has been lifted, according to Falfurrias Mayor Justo Ramirez. The city was under the water boil notice because of a damaged water line, city officials said.

After toggling together two electrical systems at the water treatment plant, Cottonwood Shores officials are bringing it all under one system. City Administrator J.C. Hughes told councilors during a Thursday, April 15, meeting that crews will rewire the water treatment plant’s electrical system so its all PALL Water Filtration System wiring. Currently, the plant has a mix of PALL and the older Tonka Water Treatment System wiring.

It has been 30 years or so since residents in New Mexico’s largest city last saw their stretch of the Rio Grande go dry. There’s a possibility it could happen again this summer. Federal water managers released their annual operating plan for the Rio Grande on Thursday, and it doesn’t look good.

Water and sewer rates will likely increase for Houston residents.

In 2019, the City of Houston hired Carollo Engineers Inc. to do a cost of service study on how to offset $200 million dollars in infrastructure improvements to the water and wastewater systems. According to Houston Public Works, the water and wastewater rates have not been amended since 2010. the agency said the current rates no longer meet the financial, regulatory, service and legal goals of the Combined Utility System.

The San Jacinto River Authority, the entity that provides surface water to certain users in Montgomery County, is undergoing sunset review, a performance evaluation by a state commission that may require the SJRA to make certain improvements. But local entities said the initial report fell short of examining their priority concerns regarding the SJRA.

The first major reservoir in Texas in nearly three decades is now taking on water. The North Texas Municipal Water District began impounding, or capturing, water on the 16,641-acre lake Wednesday, the district announced. The lake is being built in rural Fannin County, northeast of the town of Bonham, which is approximately 35 miles northeast of McKinney.

The City of Laredo is working on a master plan for its water services and it’s inviting the community to be a part of the conversation. On Wednesday evening the city will kick off its series of virtual town halls to discuss the city’s 50-year water and wastewater master plan.

The city of Midland and Pioneer Natural Resources partnered five years ago to upgrade the city’s water treatment facility in exchange for Pioneer using the city’s wastewater. Now, those upgrades have finally been completed.

The Sherman City Council approved a company to design a back-up power system for the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

The proposal was brought up during Monday night’s council meeting. City officials said the plant did not lose power during February’s winter storm, but that they wanted to be prepared in case of a future outage.

Rain is a blessing, especially in an often drought-ridden Texas. But that same rainwater can overflow clogged pipes, sending untreated sewage out of the manholes and into our water.

NBU announced Monday it is entering a Stage 2 Drought Restriction, just like SAWS did in San Antonio. New Braunfels Utilities also uses the Edwards Aquifer, which has seen its level drop to a 10-day rolling average of 649. 9 feet. 

The city’s Transportation & Public Works Department is hosting a virtual community meeting to update residents on Westside Alliance and Arlington Heights infrastructure improvements.

A judge has dismissed the city of Houston from a lawsuit in which a Lake Conroe nonprofit sought to file a restraining order against the San Jacinto River Authority and the city. The city was dismissed from the lawsuit April 9, but all matters concerning the SJRA are still pending, according to court documents.

After an extended period of drought conditions, the level of the Edwards Aquifer is nearing the trigger for Stage 2 restrictions for SAWS customers. Unless a heavy rainfall reverses the current trends for the aquifer (measured at the J-17 well), Stage 2 restrictions are forecast to continue through much of the summer, according to SAWS.

Private property rights are at the center of a debate waging over groundwater regulations in Montgomery County, and recent regulatory decisions have highlighted differences in opinion on how groundwater should be managed.

Demolition of the city’s 43-year-old Lyon Street water tank began Wednesday. The tank serves as the heart of the water distribution system for central and south Laredo, but had been out of service for some time.