exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Water's the word for Corpus Christi's 2018 capital projects budget. Funds allocated for storm water, water supply, water quality and wastewater make up a lion's share of the scheduled expenditures on projects. Budget numbers are not yet finalized, but the water-related categories account for at least $115 million of the $143-million capital budget.

AUSTIN — Lake Austin is now classified as positive for invasive zebra mussels after biologists discovered them in the reservoir last week. Lake Austin is the third Central Texas reservoir where zebra mussels have been found this year, and the second in the Colorado River basin, according to a news release from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

COLLEGE STATION – With summer temperatures climbing into the triple digits, residential lawns are requiring more water. Knowing how much water lawns require can be a daunting task for homeowners, but the WaterMyYard web-app at  http://WaterMyYard.org  not only has the answer, but will send you a weekly email and/or text message with instructions on how many minutes to run your irrigation systems, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.   The web-app has the same look an

Water Treatment Facility. He suspects untreated wastewater from the facility was poured into the water. “I don’t have any proof that that’s where it comes from but where else would it come from?” he said. TCEQ tells KXAN they were notified of the issue Wednesday morning and the city of Kyle says it is investigating but does not have any indication that raw sewage entered the creek.

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio River Authority will be getting a new water treatment plant after the Texas Water Development Board approved a $9.5 million grant. The financial assistance will come from the state’s clean water revolving fund. More News Headlines Advisory issued as giant sea turtles nest at Padre Island National Seashore Invasive zebra mussels found in Lake Austin The new plant will be able to treat 250,000 gallons per day.

Earlier this summer, biologists found zebra mussels in Lake Travis. Texas Parks and Wildlife officials found more in Lake Austin, this time. “It's very likely a boat from Travis or a boat from another lake brought them to that marina near Tom Miller Dam,” said Greg Cummings, district fisheries biologist with TPWD.

A state agency is investigating whether silt dredged from the Spring Lake Park pond poses an environmental hazard to those near where it is being dumped. Prompted by complaints from residents of the Wamba, Texas, community north of Texarkana, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has inspected the dump site at County Road 2311 and Hudson Lane. Tatum Excavating Co., the contractor hired to dredge the pond, operates the site.

Conroe residents are invited to attend a public meeting set for this week as the Conroe City Council continues to work on the city's budget and accompanying sewer and water rate hikes.

The waste collection event is part of a $31,500 settlement city officials reached last year with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the city’s higher-than-allowable copper averages in its effluent water during a two-month period ending July 30, 2015. Effluent water has been treated at a wastewater plant and discharged into a creek.

Invasive zebra mussels have taken another step in their spread across Central Texas and now have a presence in Lake Austin, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said Thursday. Officials with the department and the Lower Colorado River Authority said scientists had been on the lookout for the small, striped mussels since an established, breeding population was discovered upstream at Lake Travis in June.

Leander City Council unanimously passed a resolution Thursday authorizing the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority to enter a financing agreement with the Texas Water Development Board, which would give the city of Leander $8,130,000 in debt for the construction of a water plant expansion. The BCRUA was created by the cities of Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock in 2007 to create a three-phase regional water system to deliver water from Lake Travis to the cities.

Water and wastewater rates are expected to rise in the coming years, and there's not much the City Council can do about it if they want to maintain optimal water quality and stave off a federal lawsuit. The City Council voted 6-to-3 Tuesday to support an increase in water and wastewater rates that will cost average residential users a few dollars a month more while generating an additional $16 million for the city each of the next two years.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas—A study to determine if, and how high, the water level could be raised in Wright Patman Lake for additional water storage is one step closer to completion. During its regular meeting Tuesday, the Sulphur River Basin Authority's board of directors agreed to pay the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers $350,000 to complete a Tentatively Selected Plan that would determine if the lake could be raised and how high. SRBA consultant John Jarvis said he's been meeting with the corps to determine exactly what needs to be done to complete the TSP, which is now expected in April 2018.

In its draft 2017 Water Management Plan, San Antonio Water System outlines some pretty ambitious conservation targets for future generations. The goal is to reduce residential water usage to 55 gallons per person per day by 2070. At present, it’s 78 gallons per person per day. Total water usage — industrial, commercial, residential and nonrevenue — would fall to 88 gallons per person per day. This is absolutely paramount for maintaining San Antonio’s long-term water security while preserving relatively low rates.