The Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) finalized the purchase of 74 acres adjacent to the Colemans Canyon Preserve on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. This purchase secures critical recharge area for the Middle Trinity Aquifer and is within the catchment area for Jacob’s Well. Read more from the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association here.
Forty years ago, there was no clear blueprint for environmental justice. While digging into the injustices that wreaked havoc on Houston’s communities of color, Texas Southern University scholar Robert Bullard became the pioneer. Now, widely regarded as “the father of environmental justice,” Bullard, 74, has seen the movement evolve into a force to be reckoned with. Read more from Brittany Britto with the Houston Chronicle here.
In 2020, seven multidisciplinary teams were chosen as recipients of the fiscal year 2020-2021 Water Seed Grant Initiative, “Research, Engineering and Extension: Creation and Deployment of Water-Use Efficient Technology Platforms.” The teams were selected by Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). Through the initiative, the three Texas A&M University System agencies have provided $1,136,627 in funding for the grants for 20 months across fiscal years 2020 and 2021, administered by Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI). …
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it expects to issue by October 15th a $21.7 million grant funding opportunity for technical assistance and training providers to support small drinking water and wastewater systems that are often located in rural communities across the United States. EPA’s funding will improve public health and environmental protection by helping ensure that drinking water in these communities is safe and that wastewater is treated and responsibly returned to the environment. Read…
In August, during the second special session of the 87th Texas Legislature, the Texas Capitol flooded. After the water stopped cascading down the pink granite walls inside the Capitol extension, the Legislature resumed its deliberations. The August flood was preceded by February’s severe winter storm. Hundreds of Texans died in the cold and dark after days without power and, in some places, without water. Read more from Todd H. Votteler on the Dallas Morning News here.
This year is on pace to be one of the most active and costliest years for disasters in the United States. Through the first nine months of 2021, the U.S. has endured 18 separate weather and climate disasters that have cost at least $1 billion, according to the latest report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information. Read more from Kerrin Jeromin with the Washington Post here.
Climate change has made the Texas heat worse, with less relief as nighttime temperatures warm, a report from the state’s climatologist published Thursday found. Climate data also show that the state is experiencing extreme rainfall — especially in eastern Texas — bigger storm surges as seas rise along the Gulf Coast and more flooding from hurricanes strengthened by a warming ocean, the report says. Those trends are expected to accelerate in the next 15 years, according to the report, which…
As a massive investment to repair roads and adapt to climate change faces an uncertain fate in Congress, a new report finds much of the country's infrastructure is already at risk of being shut down by flooding. And as the planet heats up, the threat is expected to grow. Today, one-in-four pieces of all critical infrastructure in the US — including police and fire stations, hospitals, airports and wastewater treatment facilities — face substantial risk of being rendered inoperable by…
Roughly five years ago, the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation began gathering a small group of Texas water data stakeholders to discuss opportunities to improve decision-making in the water space by improving access to the data that decisions are based on. Through those discussions, the seed for the Texas Water Data Hub was planted. However, before cultivating a hub, it was critical to conduct a gut check with the Texas water community to determine if such an effort would be…
By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula - Published October 27, 2021 Highland Lakes residents who spoke during a recent Lower Colorado River Authority board meeting urged directors to be cautious while creating a new commercial dredging ordinance. At its Nov. 17 meeting, the LCRA Board of Directors will consider whether to adopt the proposed Highland Lakes Dredge and Fill Ordinance (HLDO). The 15 directors also will decide on proposed changes to the existing Highland Lakes Watershed Ordinance (HLWO). The HLDO is “a solution…