exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Pearland and Manvel are working on the largest infrastructure projects in their respective histories—and each of them are related to water infrastructure.

Houston Public Works leaders are sounding the alarm over urgent investment needs for updating aging infrastructure millions in the Houston region rely on. HPW said it needs about $6 billion for a new water treatment plant and $9 billion for a wastewater consent decree.

Local leaders and northwest Bexar County residents met on Sunday ahead of a legal proceeding over whether or not a company should get a wastewater permit for a project just outside Helotes. Guajolote Ranch is the name of a developer’s plan for 2,900 homes in northwest Bexar County. 

The project was selected and approved during its Feb. 11 meeting as a part of the Denton County bond so 50% of the project is reimbursable by the county. The improvements would be between Lois Street and Byron Nelson Boulevard and include a concrete street; curb and gutter drainage improvements; new sidewalks and street lighting, according to city documents.

Nearly 50 Texas towns, including Fort Worth, had per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in public water utility systems.

Water authorities serving the Cy-Fair area are ramping up efforts to convert a larger portion of their water supply to surface water, aiming to reduce groundwater reliance and comply with Harris-Galveston Subsidence District regulations.

A study to determine the feasibility of the source could take 6 months, at the very least.

A boil water notice has been issued for some residents of Nacogdoches County.

Now, commissioners say the 200,000-resident county south of Fort Worth is in a state of disaster after discovering disturbing levels of contamination from PFAS — commonly known as “forever chemicals” — stemming from use of the fertilizer.

Texas’ environmental regulator has closed a chapter in the saga of the industrial wastewater permit SpaceX needed for its South Texas launch site. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Thursday denied requests from a dozen area residents and several groups to reconsider the commercial space company’s permit to dump as much as 358,000 gallons of water into wetlands during tests and launches of its Starship rocket from its Starbase east of Brownsville.

West University's Fiscal Year 2025-2034 Capital Improvement Plan includes a roughly $502 million budget with 62%, or $312 million, of funds going towards drainage projects.

Port Arthur city council has approved residential and industrial/commercial water rate increases, with the future cost of major water and sewer infrastructure improvements estimated at about $1 billion. Council unanimously approved a water and sewer rate increase of 5.6% for residential customers and 11.5% for industrial/commercial customers during its Tuesday meeting.

Water was temporarily restored Wednesday morning, but low water pressure led to the city issuing a boil water order until further notice.

The contamination comes from perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, that stem from contaminated biosolids fertilizer. Testing confirmed PFAS contamination in soil, groundwater, surface water and animal tissue throughout the affected area. There have been reported deaths of fish and cattle in the affected areas of contamination, according to a statement from the Johnson County Judge.

The board, known officially as the Wise County Water Supply District, serves only the City of Decatur with untreated water from Lake Bridgeport. The project includes replacing miles of 12-inch water pipe between Lake Bridgeport and Decatur with 24-inch pipe. That will cost $21.2 million. The bonds, if approved, will also pay for the construction of a new raw water pump station at the lake for $18.2 million. Remaining funds are directed towards efforts to increase water treatment plant capacity.