exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Two years after passing a measure calling for the region’s largest provider of wholesale water and electricity to open itself to further scrutiny by the Legislature, lawmakers appear set to reverse direction. The House could vote Wednesday on a measure that would repeal a law subjecting the Lower Colorado River Authority and a host of other river authorities to sunset review.

The Army Corps of Engineers signed off on the permit last Wednesday and Harris County Flood Control officials received approval of the individual permit for the project on Monday. The Army Corps of Engineers doesn't like to get dragged into controversy, so maybe that's why it issued the permit Harris County Flood Control needed to move forward with the project without fanfare last week. Harris County Flood Control officials then followed up with their own quiet approval of the project, marking an abrupt, undramatic end to the fight over whether or not to alter the riparian forest that lines the banks of Buffalo Bayou, one of the last relatively untouched sections in the heart of Houston.

The Hill Country Alliance (HCA) recently named Daniel Oppenheimer as its new Landowner Outreach and Development Manager to lead the organization’s efforts to connect with landowners in the Hill Country. Founded in 2005, the Hill Country Alliance is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to raise public awareness and build community support around the need to preserve the natural resources and heritage of the Central Texas Hill Country.

Opponents of a businessman who applies sewage sludge and grit and grease trap waste to land on his ranch in Victoria County are fighting him on two fronts. While the businessman, Jess Mayfield, waits to protest the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's denial of a permit to continue applying sewage sludge and grease and grit trap waste, three state legislators have filed bills that would outlaw what he's doing.

SAN ANGELO — Saturday, April 22, marks the 47th observance of Earth Day, when all citizens of the planet are challenged to do something positive for the environment. Locally, organizers are preparing for the yearly cleanup of high-litter areas, including the Red Arroyo, starting at 9 a.m. outside Buffalo Wild Wings, 4251 Sherwood Way.

State Sen. José Menéndez (D-26) and State Reps. Donna Howard (D-48), and Tracy O. King (D-80) have filed bills that many believe are needed to protect the quality of the water in the Edwards Aquifer. Senate Bill 1796 (Menéndez)/House Bill 3036 (King) and House Bill 3467 (Howard) would prohibit discharge of sewage effluent into waterways in the Edwards Aquifer Contributing Zone.

With summer fast approaching, the many who depend on the Highland Lakes water supply can take solace that lakes Travis and Buchanan are in better shape, levelwise, than they’ve been in recent years. The Lower Colorado River Authority is looking ahead to the coming months, using benchmarks defined in the 2015 Water Management Plan to determine how much water to release down basin to the rice farmers waiting to irrigate their crops.

Bush, who has been a vocal proponent of the proposed Ike Dike plan to build a coastal barrier system to protect Galveston and Houston took the next big step by sending a letter to Donald Trump asking the president to include $15 billion in federal funds in his national infrastructure plans to actually get the coastal barrier constructed along the Texas Gulf Coast. The letter, signed by 20 area mayors, including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, along with state lawmakers and professors who have worked on the project, does a good job of selling the idea, noting how Hurricane Ike was a near-miss for the Houston Ship Channel that still caused $30 billion of damage to the Texas coast, and pointing out that the Texas coast port system "is crucial, not only to the United States' economy, but also to our national security."

If you drive out FM 1331 to Lake Granger or San Gabriel, then you have probably seen a “rig” type object near the East Williamson County Regional Water System facility outside of Taylor. The rig is a part of the Brazos River Authority (BRA) pilot project to provide more water to customers in the Williamson County area.

NUECES COUNTY - On Thursday, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) approved a $900,000 financial assistance award for the Cyndie Park 2 Water Supply Corporation in Nueces County to move forward with water distribution improvements. The funds will finance the planning, design, and construction of improvements to the water system intended to reduce arsenic levels in the system and provide clean drinking water to more nearby residents.

Until last year, this decade had been tough on Texas rice farmers in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties. For four-plus years growers in the Texas Rice Belt were limited from pumping Colorado River water for irrigation as the result of an emergency drought order issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) highlighted the Tetra Tech-supported H2Oaks Center, a project to develop and sustain water supplies in San Antonio, on its website. Population and industrial growth, combined with three years of drought, exhausted the water supply available to many Texas communities and increased the need for innovative solutions to support long-term needs.