exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Three years after one of the worst droughts in Wichita Falls history, life is returning to normal. But as Texas creeps back into a drought, water experts say residents in the city and around the state can do more to conserve water and prepare for the next, which is always on the horizon. 

Almost seven years after a discharge at the City of Kilgore Wastewater Treatment Plant drew the ire of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, local officials this week approved a new industrial pretreatment program to continue to make things right with the state.

Basically, it’s the city taking full responsibility for that process instead of TCEQ.

With council approval of a new industrial waste ordinance, “We are the primary agency for the enforcement of pretreatment guidelines,” city engineer Clay Evers told the elected officials Tuesday. Currently, it affects seven local industrial clients in particular: “Their activities directly impact the activities of the City of Kilgore, mainly wastewater treatment.

Behind the glass pane, three men sat behind a panel of computer screens at what looked like a miniature version of NASA’s mission control center.

Instead of launching spacecraft, the men were concerned with what was going on below ground. Sitting at their computers, they manipulated the flow of water into and out of three underground rock layers and the larger network of pipes that connect to 1.7 million people in the San Antonio area.

When it came to flavor, judges at a water utility conference in downtown San Antonio preferred drinking water from North Texas to water from other parts of the state.

The five judges, four of whom are San Antonio journalists, ranked their favorites from 17 drinking water samples at a blind taste test competition at the Texas Water 2018conference at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Wednesday.

AUSTIN – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) unveiled a new website to educate and inform Texans about alligator gar – the largest freshwater fish in Texas and one

The Port of Corpus Christi’s Ship Channel Improvement Project (CIP) received additional support from bipartisan Members of the Texas Congressional Delegation in a recent letter sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) urging that more funds be designated to it this year.

SALADO — Headway is being made on this village’s long-gestating $8.2 million wastewater project.

Village Administrator Don Ferguson said the construction on the collection system is ahead of schedule while the treatment system is on schedule.

“It’s going along very well — knock on wood,” Ferguson said. “We started construction in January. We have made significant progress. We’re going to be crossing Salado Creek in early May if everything goes as planned and working on Main Street.”

This Earth Day, let us each take a step that can place Texas on a path to greater sustainability and economic stability. Participate in the Texas Flood Assessment online survey, engage your local elected officials to voice your support for land conservation.

Apr 19, 2018: Montgomery County announced April 17 that the Harris County Flood Control District submitted a grant application for the San Jacinto River Regional Watershed Study to the Texas Division of Emergency Management, April 16. The $2.5 million study—a joint project between Montgomery County, the San Jacinto River

Annetta recently received recognition from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for its water system.

The town earned a superior rating from TCEQ, Annetta Mayor Bruce Pinckard said.

“The town of Annetta is proud to announce the designation of superior public water system for Annetta’s Deer Creek Water System,” he said. “Since purchasing the Deer Creek water and wastewater systems, [Annetta] made sizable investments and commitments to excellence.

Watch what we’re doing to reduce that risk, operate and maintain the floodway, and plan for the region’s anticipated growth.

BAY CITY – The Texas Water Resources Institute, or TWRI, will host a free workshop from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. May 8 for area residents interested in land and water stewardship in the Tres Palacios Creek and Lower Colorado River watersheds.

The I-Team examined the 76 largest water utilities in North Texas and found 20 to be in violation of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

Alliance Water received approval from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) in August 2017 for a $213.4 million new water supply project along the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. Funding for the project will come from the State Water Implementation Fund of Texas (SWIFT). (ID::40073)

STEPHENVILLE (April 24, 2018)– At the Stephenville City Council special session meeting tonight, the council voted on two major ongoing projects. The council first approved all fourteen proposed amendments to the town charter. Those amendments will be on the ballot at the 2018 Nov. election.

The Magnolia City Council authorized Strand Associates Inc. to move forward with an analysis on the best way for the city to phase in a new wastewater treatment plant.
The council has discussed the need for a new plant for sometime and late last year considered partnerships with developers to help fund a $15 million plant. However, none of those agreements materialized.
Now, the council is looking at a plan to phase in a new plant to help keep up with the growth in and around the small city.
"Obviously, right this second we are unsure of the full-size plant that was designed," Mayor Todd Kana said. "We are looking at other options.

When her organization, Westside Development Corp., took over planning Earth Day San Antonio, Dawn Hanson wanted it to be as green an event as possible. Hanson encouraged vendors at the annual Fiesta event at Woodlawn Lake Park to not bring any plastic water bottles. Instead, San Antonio Water System brought a water tanker truck, a water dispenser, and free, reusable water bottles to give out.

Since a spring 2015 scare at the Lewisville Lake dam, repairs have been on a fast track. But that means years when it comes to federal funding.

Now, preparations are accelerating for the $150 million Army Corps of Engineers project to secure one of the region's most critical pieces of infrastructure, which the corps once rated as the eighth-riskiest in the nation.

The EPA says the San Jacinto Waste Pits near Houston no longer needs Scott Pruitt's personal attention due to progress on a remediation plan. But the site is still years away from being cleaned up.