Low Lake Travis water levels are impacting businesses, residents

Drought conditions and low water levels in Lake Travis continue to affect business owners and residents who live and work in this area, and this is especially true for those in the lake’s inlet near Hudson Bend, several residents said. “I’ve lived in the area for 27...

New project seeks ‘equitable adaptation’ of urban stormwater infrastructure, management

The National Science Foundation recently announced project awards for its Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC) planning grant program, and the team led by Wendy Jepson, Ph.D., Texas Water Resources Institute associate director and University Professor of Geography in...

Opinion: Texas has a long way to go to live up to vision of Clean Water Act

Last month the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) voted to remove what would have been a first-ever microplastics ban from its proposed Surface Water Quality Standards. The decision went against the support of numerous environmental organizations and...

Dried Up: Hydrologists dig into Jacob’s Well, prepare for explosive Hill Country growth

Texas researchers are taking a closer look at the future of the Trinity Aquifer. The aquifer, which provides much of the drinking water to the Texas Hill Country, has seen a sharp decline amid rapid growth and years of extreme drought. The research could help...

Groundwater sampling helps better understand Edwards-Trinity Aquifers

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and scientists from the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) are studying water deep underground to further understand how drought and pumping affect the quality and quantity of groundwater that flows...

Abandoned “dry hole” oil wells are polluting Texas farms, ranches and groundwater. The state won’t fix them.

Schuyler Wight is a fourth-generation rancher who has raised longhorn cattle outside Midland for decades. Wight is no geologist, but over the years, he’s had to familiarize himself with what lies underground. Scattered across his sprawling 20,000-acre ranch are more...