exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Environmental organizations are raising an alarm over the potential health impacts of chemicals spilled Feb. 3 into Sims Bayou near Hobby Airport. An estimated 64,000 gallons of jet fuel escaped from a Southwest Airlines-owned fuel storage facility. Amy Sullivan, who has been monitoring the water quality in Sims Bayou for six years with the water monitoring network Texas Stream Team, said she was flabbergasted Thursday when she went to sample the bayou.

An educational program called “Managing Under Drought: Water Management Information for Growers in the Middle Rio Grande” will be offered Feb. 19 in El Paso. The program is free and will be held from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center.

Nearly a year after it opened to the public, the park has been recognized with a national award by the American Institute of Architects for its distinctive design features that connect visitors with nature.

Recharging the Ogallala Aquifer is the goal for the Texas Playa Conservation Initiative (TxPCI), a partnership of six organizations including Texas Parks and Wildlife, Playa Lakes Joint Venture, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited and Texan by Nature (TxN).

More intense rain and higher sea levels are prompting Galveston officials to deviate from a drainage master plan written in 2003 by rethinking their approach to system improvements and requiring developers to meet more stringent drainage requirements.

 From initial door-to-door response for evacuations to post-flood cleanup provisions for residents, the Town Hall meeting Jan. 29 crafted an assessment of how the community handled the response and recovery process of the October flood event

 Lakes LBJ and Marble Falls will remain lowered for three additional weeks until March 18, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority. The LCRA consulted with the cities of Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay to extend the lake lowerings to assist residents recovering from the October flood.

More intense rain and higher sea levels are prompting Galveston officials to deviate from a drainage master plan written in 2003 by rethinking their approach to system improvements and requiring developers to meet more stringent drainage requirements.

The North Texas Municipal Water District has added new measures to provide more transparency after last year’s complaints over the taste and smell of the water during its annual disinfecting practice.

Lakes LBJ, Buchanan, Inks, and Marble Falls are zebra mussel-free, and city and county officials want to keep it that. With Spring Break on the way, biologist Stephen Davis of the Lower Colorado River Authority offered this tip for boaters: clean, drain, and dry watercraft before and after putting them in the water.

The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has announced an amended schedule for the drawdown of Lake LBJ.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has long been viewed as captive to the state hydrocarbon and petrochemical industries, and it appears the situation is only getting worse. According to a report issued last month ("Major Malfunction") by the Environment Texas Research and Policy Center, "Texas industrial facilities reported releasing more than 63 million pounds of air pollution without authorization in 2017, a 27% increase over the previous year."

Cities across the country are embracing new, innovative ways to procure best practices in an area of ‘smart cities’ in order to meet the ever-growing demand of resident’s expectations against a canvas of growing urban challenges. San Antonio is taking a leadership role to form a “smart city 3.0 that is co-created with residents and with vendors to achieve the mission.”

For nearly a week in October, Austin residents were placed under a boil water advisory due to sediment in the city’s water supply caused by flooding. While flooding issues were present throughout the area, Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto water customers were exempt from the advisory.

Requests from local city leaders, citing continued flood-damage repair, prompted the Lower Colorado River Authority to extend a drawdown of Lakes Marble Falls and LBJ for three more weeks, officials said. The initial eight-week drawdown will go through March 18 with both waterways expected to be back to normal operating range by March 22. Starting Dec. 30, crews began lowering Lake Marble Falls to reach its 7-ft. level today and Lake LBJ to about 4 ft.

To a motorist, zipping south through Galveston County from Houston to Galveston Island, the surrounding landscape might look like a whole lot of nothing -- flat land, scrubby grass and frontage road