With midterms ahead, is water on the ballot?

With midterm elections just around the corner, Texas voters must consider immigration, abortion access and gun violence. But when prompted, many worry about water, too. Eighty-four percent of Texas voters want the Legislature to create a fund to update aging water...
Commentary: Drought, growth and the future of the Hill Country

Commentary: Drought, growth and the future of the Hill Country

On Thursday, June 9, the North Llano River stopped flowing. On August 4, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed 80 percent of the Texas Hill Country in exceptional drought. The Pedernales, Guadalupe and Frio Rivers are dry, and many other Texas rivers are heading toward zero...

EPA launches investigation into Texas environment agency’s permitting process for concrete batch plants

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is the subject of an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency following complaints that the state agency violated civil rights laws in its permitting of concrete batch plants. The Harris County Attorney and...

The Odessa water outage underscores a growing problem: Aging pipes in Texas cities are getting more fragile

Odessa city officials are still investigating what caused a massive water line break that left the city without water for 48 hours last month. But they’ve shared one important detail: The water line was about 60 years old. “Aging water systems are common throughout...

Five things to know about drought in the American West

Harsh and unrelenting. But also transformative? The dry conditions blanketing much of the American West are setting records nearly every week. Lakes Mead and Powell, the country’s largest reservoirs by capacity, dropped to new lows this year. The Great Salt Lake did,...