exTRA by the Trinity River Authority of Texas

Laredo is entering its sixth day of a citywide water boil notice after traces of E. coli were discovered in its public water system. Now officials in this South Texas city are scrambling to repair old water pipes that could have been at the center of the crisis.

At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, taxpayers heard a presentation from a potential new wastewater treatment provider for the city, BVRT II, a Texas based, investor owned, water resource company. A representative for BVRT explained how they operate and the benefits they believe the company would provide to Howe specifically.

A boil water notice has been issued for some Lake Livingston Water Supply customers Monday. The notice applies to those in the Sportsman Retreat and Wells Landing communities. According to a release by the Lake Livingston Water Supply Corporation, a line break made the notice necessary.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates there are 9.2 million lead pipes delivering water to homes, schools, businesses and public spaces across the United States, but starting Wednesday, the public will at least have a better idea of where more of them are located.

Houston’s resilience is not just a buzzword—it’s a commitment to keeping our communities safer, drier, and more prepared for whatever Mother Nature has in store. The latest milestone in that commitment? The substantial completion of the first repair package in the Addicks Reservoir Watershed, a project overseen by the Harris County Flood Control District in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This vital infrastructure update marks a critical step forward in Houston’s flood mitigation efforts, benefiting more than 200,000 residents in the region.

New Braunfels is approaching full build-out within its city limits, with numerous developments reshaping its landscape, leading to questions of the sustainability of this growth and the capacity of local infrastructure, particularly water services. Comal County Engineer Robert Boyd said there are several ways the county assesses infrastructure needs, such as water availability reports and road standards.

Ocelots in Texas are threatened by habitat loss, predation, hunting, trapping, disease and wildfires, and also face low genetic diversity due to inbreeding and the risk of being struck by vehicles on roads and highways. The new $20 million, 30,000-square-foot center will house primary research buildings for wildlife researchers to advance ocelot research, providing space for surgeries, exams, outreach and education, with the goal to successfully breed and reintroduce the native cats into the wild.

The City Council voted to designate the land as parkland, which allows the city to use park funds for things like expanding trail access and building playgrounds. Austin has a goal of making sure there's a park within a 5-to-10-minute walk of all residents.

Residents of a rural Floresville neighborhood are having a problem that's pretty hard to miss. Their water is full of sediment. Some said it smells, others said it stains their clothes -- all of them said this issue has been going on for years and they just want answers.

If you happened to be near Austin’s Lady Bird Lake on Monday, you might have noticed it looked different. The lake level, which usually stays constant year-round, had dropped by about 2 feet, exposing stretches of muddy, sometimes smelly, shoreline.

The Brenham City Council will meet Thursday to potentially accept bids for wastewater treatment plant and groundwater projects. The wastewater project includes rehabilitating the wastewater treatment plant and the process aeration blowers. 

Exploring how production changes affect wastewater and offering strategies to minimize risks while ensuring sustainable, long-term growth.

North Texas counties include: Collin, Denton, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Wise. He also ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management to mobilize additional resources to help local firefighters.

Increasing drought in East Texas is bringing about more burn bans. Tyler, Polk and Newton County have been added to over 100 county-wide burn bans currently in effect as of Friday.

“It is typical that October tends to be one of our wetter months, but we haven’t seen any of that rain,” said Texas A&M Forest Service public information officer Laura Stevens.

The city of Pflugerville will receive up to $156 million from the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act following City Council’s approval of a supplemental ordinance to the city’s utility system revenue. 

Leander City Council approved updates to the city’s wastewater master plan Oct. 3. The updates recommended over 40 projects in the next 20 years, which were projected to cost $266 million, according to the agenda item. Two of the roughly 43 projects were recommended to be undertaken in the immediate future, and they are projected to cost about $28 million.

Houston City Councilmembers took a property tax increase proposal off the table for now after state leaders announced $50 million for storm recovery for impacted communities.

In its Tuesday afternoon meeting, the city council approved a notice of intent to issue $66 million dollars in bonds, a form of debt funding, for several water and wastewater projects. $15 million will help purchase the land to develop Lake 7, off E 50th St. Assistant City Manager Erik Rejino says the debt will be paid off through water rates.