exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Water rates for the Johnson County Special Utility District will remain unchanged in 2019 but customers will see an increase in sewer rates. “An increase is needed for wastewater billing collections,” JCSUD General Manager Terry Kelley said. “Given our relatively small wastewater collection and treatment system, we have to keep a vigil on rates to mitigate shortfalls to fully fund sewer capital improvement needs from year to year.”

The Carrollton City Council approved a 7.1-percent water and wastewater increase for the upcoming year at Tuesday night's city council meeting. The increase will go into effect on Jan. 1.

Bob Scott, chief financial officer, said the city is increasing its rates because of rising costs from suppliers Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) and the Trinity River Authority (TRA).

By Lew K. Cohn Managing Editor Burnet Bulletin Burnet County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday, Nov. 27, on a plan to share with affected municipalities portions of a $100,000 donation from the Lower Colorado River Authority for cleanup from the October flood. 

DRIPPING SPRINGS — A plan to dump up to nearly a million gallons of treated wastewater per day in Onion Creek is one step closer to a reality in Dripping Springs.

On Monday, a state judge sided with the city in a legal battle over the plan.

In 2017, ExxonMobil announced plans to build one of the largest chemical plants in the world just north of Corpus Christi.

Known as the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project, the ethylene cracker — expected to be operational as soon as 2021 — is one of dozens of chemical manufacturing and other facilities in the works along the Texas Gulf Coast as industry looks to capitalize on a newfound ability to export oil and natural gas.

As we experience more frequent and more intense weather extremes, we must work together on a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to understand how Hill Country watersheds function and how they will function as more people move to the region. We all have a stake in this.

One month after the destructive flooding of Texas Hill Country rivers led to multiple deaths and tens of millions of dollars in property damage, scientists, regional water management leaders, and academics are still weighing the consequences and the prospect of future severe weather events in Texas.

The city of Tomball may add up to $42.6 million in additional infrastructure for its water and wastewater master plan in the next five, 10 and 25 years. On Monday the city council hosted a workshop meeting to discuss the addition of a new water plant that would be located in east Tomball near Hufsmith-Kohrville Road and Agg Road.

(ARLINGTON, TEXAS) – The Trinity River Authority confirmed two sanitary sewer overflows in its Central Regional Wastewater System plant’s collection system on Sunday, Nov. 18. The overflows are located in the city of Irving:

• 3555 International Place, estimated time of overflow: 2:55 p.m.
• 2304 Century Center Blvd., estimated time of overflow: 3:15 p.m.

The overflows, which occurred at two separate manholes, are due to capacity overloading of a wastewater collection system line caused by inflows from the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, which is out of it banks. Wastewater flows have remained high following the heavy, widespread rainfall in the last 45 days. TRA has contacted the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop the water flow releases to the Elm Fork from Lakes Grapevine and Lewisville. This will allow TRA to locate and stop the inflow, which will eliminate the overflows.

All wastewater overflows in excess of 100,000 gallons must be reported to TCEQ, the public and designated public officials. The final estimated quantity of the overflow will be reported to TCEQ. TRA notifies all required city, county and state officials.

No public drinking water supplies have been threatened or contaminated by these overflows; no aquatic life has been affected. The public is reminded to avoid contact with waste material, soil or water near the affected area.

Key figures behind Fort Worth’s billion-dollar flood protection project, known as "Panther Island," are U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, her son J.D. Granger and, now, J.D.’s fiancée, Shanna Cate – a trio with power to help shape the publicly-funded endeavor.

The city of Dripping Springs will proceed with its wastewater permit application after a state judge sided with the city on all 12 issues raised by Save Our Springs Alliance—an Austin-area environmental nonprofit. The State Office of Administrative Hearings conducted the contested case hearing and concluded that the city’s application for a wastewater permit should be granted, according to a Nov. 26 news release.

A 100-year water resiliency plan that calls for massive underground reservoirs and reuse of wastewater is now city policy after gaining the approval of the Austin City Council.

The plan, dubbed Water Forward, has been in the works since 2014, when years of drought led council members to call for a look at the city’s long-term water future. It proposes creating artificial aquifers that could store billions of gallons of potable water.

After months of grueling deliberation and closed-door settlements, the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) is recommending to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approval of the city of Dripping Springs wastewater permit. The... #BillFoulds #GingerFaught #LesliGinn

In late October the city of Austin experienced an unprecedented weeklong boil-water notice. Some engineering and water-treatment system experts said there was no realistic way to plan for it. “This is a very rare event,” said Randall Charbeneau, a water environment engineer expert and vice-chancellor of research for the University of Texas System. “[This is] not a thing you plan a water-distribution system around.”

In San Antonio, Texas, Commissioners Creek is important to the residents in the area. However, it is even more vital to the Blackwell brothers who raise about 18 cattle on property that has been in their family for more than 100 years. According to The Rivard Report, the creek flows 5 ½ miles through ranches before

One day after learning Fort Worth’s “Panther Island” project missed out on federal funding again, for the third year in a row, some of the people overseeing the work insisted there’s no reason to sweat. “We will get the funding. Nobody is going to leave this project hanging,” said Jim Lane, longtime board member with the Tarrant Regional Water District.

KYLE, Texas (KXAN) — The City of Kyle will be moving to Stage 1 water conservation Tuesday, according to a press release by the city. The decision was authorized under the city's Drought Contingency Plan, Ordinance 569, which was approved by the Kyle City Council in 2009. The city has been under Stage 2 water conservation since June 2017.

BEEVILLE – A committee of 10 individuals appointed to look at how to save a crumbling city wastewater treatment plant on Cook Road sat down with experts in finance and government assistance last Thursday, Nov. 8, at noon. City Manager Joe B. Montez had called the meeting so committee members would have a chance to discuss funding options with some experts.

TARPLEY – Charles and John Blackwell stood at the edge of their property with their neighbor Margo Denke Griffin and pointed out the clear water pouring across their land in Commissioners Creek.

“You can always see the bottom,” Charles Blackwell said of the creek, which in several spots teemed with minnows darting among aquatic plants.

Every two years, as a condition of the federal Clean Water Act, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality releases a report on water quality across the state and names a number of bodies of water as impaired, meaning that the level of pollution is higher than regulations allow.

A broken sanitary sewer line sent more than 151,000 gallons of wastewater into a Carrollton creek Monday, city officials said. 

Crews were called about 11 a.m. to Hutton Branch Creek near the 2700 block of Winding Creek Drive and the Bush Turnpike, where the creek bank had given way, breaking the 12-inch sanitary sewer line. 

Two sewer overflows in Irving caused by overloaded wastewater collection lines from this fall's heavy rainfall pose no threat to the drinking water or aquatic life, officials say. The Trinity River Authority confirmed the sanitary sewer overflows occurred along the 3500 block of International Place and along the 2300 block of Century Center Boulevard within about 20 minutes of each other Sunday, the first reported at about 2:55 p.m. and the second at 3:15 p.m.