exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

The stadium will anchor the $1.5 billion entertainment district, which is planned to eventually also feature a hotel and conference center, a High5 Entertainment venue, retail and houses across 100 acres. Infrastructure work for the district began in August.

After some shocking discoveries a few years back, Maine has led the charge in banning the use of sewage-based fertilizers, which have been found to contaminate farmlands with PFAS. Getting national policies on the books, however, may prove much harder.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is facing a lawsuit over allegations it allowed Space-X to dump wastewater into Boca Chica wetlands without a permit. The lawsuit filed by multiple South Texas environmental groups claims the commission violated the Clean Water Act by approving an order allowing Space-X to continue to dump contaminated water from the Starbase launch pad site until a new permit is issued.

Rio Grande Valley groups are suing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, accusing the agency of bypassing state regulations by allowing SpaceX to temporarily discharge industrial water at its South Texas launch site without a proper permit. The groups — the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, along with the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, and Save RGV — filed the lawsuit Monday after the agency decided last month to allow SpaceX to continue its operations for 300 days or until the company obtained the appropriate permit.

City Manager Shawna Burkhart told city council members she believes there are three water projects the city must take on to address the city’s ongoing water supply issues. Burkhart shared those priorities during a special city council meeting recently.

Relief is on its way to people living in Galveston as construction is set to begin in early 2025 on the first-ever pump station that is meant to help with flooding in the area. This comes after the city council approved the bid for the $67 million project last Thursday. Flooding is no rare occurrence for people living in Galveston during hurricanes and strong rainstorms. But according to experts, the neighborhoods near Avenue Q, 59th Street, and Sadalia can flood even when there's no precipitation in the sky.

"The trigger is below 82 feet. Once the Lake Corpus Christi gets below 82 feet - then we go into stage three,” Alice City Manager Michael Esparza said.

Liberty Hill City Council approved a public hearing on raising wastewater impact fees by about $1,260 per living unit equivalent and water impact fees by about $2,000 per LUE for Jan. 22 at its Dec. 11 meeting.

Texas’ state insect, the black and orange-winged Monarch butterfly, could be granted federal protections after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed this week to list the animal as a threatened species. The Service deemed the Monarch could reach endangered status and said the biggest threats against the butterfly are loss of habitat, exposure to insecticides, and the effects of climate change, according to the rule filed in the Federal Register.

$10 million has been approved to provide crucial updates to the often malfunctioning Hollywood Wastewater Plant. Last year, it was estimated that the Hollywood Road Treatment Facility spilled over 100,000 gallons of wastewater due to flooding and outdated infrastructure.

The project involves replacing and repairing sanitary sewer lines in two areas, focusing on 40-year-old infrastructure. According to Engineering Director Chris Flanigan, the northern and southern lines were constructed in 1980 and 1993 respectively.

Neighbors in the Floresville area are continuing their battle with the private company that owns their water wells.

The City of Cameron has had about three water main breaks and sewer line repairs in December due in part to aging pipes and weather conditions.

Corpus Christi is a city of 316,000 residents on Texas’s Coastal Bend, a rich marine area along the Gulf of Mexico. Located close to multiple water hungry industries, this city located in a drought-plagued state is also home to multiple proposals to build desalination plants that would turn abundant saltwater into freshwater for plastic manufacturers and other industrial end users. This requires a lot of energy but also produces brine, which can be twice as salty as seawater and can contain elevated levels of heavy metals.

Construction on the indoor sports center is expected to be complete in September, with infrastructure improvements set for completion the following year. The infrastructure work will cost about $17.2 million and will include improvements to area water, sewer and drainage, as well as roadways, sidewalks and trails.

Advocates want to see the state build a diversified water supply portfolio and address the problem of aging, deteriorating drinking water and wastewater systems.

Town staff said rate increases were necessary because of the rising costs of wholesale water and sewer, higher operational costs, needed infrastructure projects and the need to continue to meet Northlake’s debt obligations. The town's projected wholesale cost of water and sewer in 2025 is $12.7 million.

Texas agencies reported 252 new cases of groundwater contamination during 2023 in the Texas Groundwater Protection Committee annual report. The latest report compiles 2,870 open cases of groundwater contamination, some of which date back decades. Nearly every county in Texas is impacted by the problem.

A committee submitted a plan to Corpus Christi City Council that could help solve an issue caused by raising property elevations on Padre Island.

Gonzales County commissioners voted 3-2 Monday, Dec. 9, to award the bid for construction of several emergency radio communications towers to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) after some tense discussion during their regular meeting.

A federal appeals court has affirmed a judge’s 2021 ruling imposing a $14.25 million penalty on Exxon Mobil for thousands of violations of the federal Clean Air Act at the company’s refinery in Baytown, Texas.