exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday morning that inbound and outbound vessel traffic could move through the channel at a slower pace. Those vessels will be checked for any oily product they might have carried in transit, Capt. Rich Howes said.

Kenny Clemons had a simple message he sent to the Natural Resources and Economic Development committee during its session Wednesday at the Texas State Capitol – “Don’t ‘Flint, Michigan’ my Texas water.”

The Odessa City Council will be considering some needed improvements to Odessa’s water treatment plant and a potential new reverse osmosis facility that could significantly improve the city’s water quality.

Frustrations hit a boiling post at the flooding task force meeting Thursday, when the plan to address the flooding crisis in Texas Township hit another roadblock. The plan is to pump up to 2,000 gallons of water per minute from Crooked and Eagle lakes and send the water down downstream to Bass Lake. The permit drafted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality required a water filtration system to block the spread of zebra mussels, a highly invasive species.

A crude oil spill during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A coal ash spill in Tennessee in 2008. The BP oil spill in 2010. In all three cases, the companies responsible for these environmental calamities turned to the same Arkansas-based consulting firm, the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, to monitor air and water quality and chemical exposure in workers. In each case, CTEH was found to have either incorrectly handled data collection or downplayed the risks of exposure to toxic chemicals. But the companies used CTEH’s data to reassure people that the spilled chemicals posed little risk to public health.

A free Texas Watershed Steward program related to preserving water quality in the Cypress Creek will be held April 25 in Houston.

Drought coverage continued to decrease across the West through mid-March as frequent precipitation with high-elevation snow fell from California east to the central and southern Rockies.

 Landowners Steve Nash and Fermin Ortiz agree on one thing. There is a sand and silt issue in Sandy Creek and Lake LBJ; however they disagree adamantly on what to do about it.

The dam and its pond are teeming with wildlife, and people of all ages and walks of life are drawn to the shores of the pond for recreation and the scenery.

In an effort to secure funds for flood mitigation studies, state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, has added a rider to the proposed 2020-21 state budget seeking $400,000 to do a feasibility study of a possible Spring Creek detention reservoir.

Environmental officials in Texas confirm there are dangerous levels of chemicals in the channel waters around Houston after a dike wall collapsed during a re-ignited fire at the chemical plant in Deer Park on Friday.

The Environmental Protection Agency is warning people to not consume fish or crab from the water as the Houston Ship Channel remains partially closed.

Crews continued to remove chemicals from several fire-damaged storage tanks at the Intercontinental Terminals Co.'s Deer Park site Monday as the U.S. Coast Guard worked to re-open the Houston Ship Channel.

Homeowners near the Blanco River say there's an algae problem that's damaging the quality of the river, and it's gotten a lot worse in just a few weeks.

A task force led by a civil engineering professor at Texas A&M University has published a new paper to serve as a resource for managing the impacts of groundwater depletion and its effects on agriculture.

In the tug-of-war over groundwater between two Central Texas counties, he who pumps the most, wins. At least until everyone loses.

New technologies and data sources are helping officials prepare residents in flood-prone areas ahead of rising waters.

Homeowners in Corinth say they're frustrated with flooding problems from a nearby development.

The environmental agency reminded residents that the city doesn't get its drinking water from the Houston Ship Channel or Tucker Bayou.