Residents struggle to coexist with quarries

Residents struggle to coexist with quarries

Growing up in the Texas Hill Country, Mark Friesenhahn often would run barefoot through the countryside with his younger brother — but only if their father, “a 150-pound, mean little banty rooster German, full of the culture and work ethic,” hadn’t assigned them a...
Water company’s moves anger buyers, landowners, local governments

Water company’s moves anger buyers, landowners, local governments

In 2018, Ronnie Urbanczyk signed a contract to purchase water from Texas Water Supply Co., a Boerne company with access to at least 40 water wells that tap into the drought-sensitive Trinity Aquifer just south of the Bexar County line. Three years later, Urbanczyk...
Wastewater threatens Texas streams

Wastewater threatens Texas streams

Diane Causey is a 75-year-old antique shop manager in Utopia, a tiny town of 277 people located an hour-and-a-half northwest of San Antonio. Her favorite place in town is a swimming hole on the Sabinal River, accessed on land her family owns. This section of the...
Solarization on the Water Quality Protection Lands and how you can do this at home

Solarization on the Water Quality Protection Lands and how you can do this at home

On the Water Quality Protection Lands, we’ve been experimenting with soil solarization to control invasive grasses in summer (June-August). This process uses solar radiation to heat the roots and seed of herbaceous plants to such high temperatures that they are no...
Water supply contract could derail dreams of a park at Honey Creek

Water supply contract could derail dreams of a park at Honey Creek

When Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioners gave their approval to turn a ranch upstream of Honey Creek into a public park rather than a controversial subdivision, opponents of the development rejoiced. But this week, many were learning more about a looming issue that...