News
Hill Country leaders discuss innovative water solutions
Hill Country leaders discussed opportunities for innovative water management at the recent Hill Country Leadership Institute meeting on June 20. The meeting took place at Wimberley’s Blue Hole Primary School, 15900 Winters Mill Parkway. During the meeting, over two...
San Antonio enters Stage 3 watering rules for the first time ever — here’s what it means
The San Antonio Water System officially entered Stage 3 watering restrictions for the first time in the utility’s 30-year history on Tuesday. Under the new watering rules ordinance, which was approved by the City Council last week, all SAWS customers — including those...
Local Hill Country leaders discuss opportunities for innovative water management
Wimberley, TX - With a growing population, increasing demand on water resources, and recurring drought conditions, community leaders from across the Hill Country are thinking hard about how to manage growth while protecting our water supply. That was the focus of the...
Rural Roundup: Building community through art in Kerrville, Texas
On June 8, 2024, the Hill Country Alliance, Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service joined forces for a Rural Roundup in Kerrville, all about Building Community Through Art. This event brought out more than 60...
Texas farmers face mounting expenses as droughts worsen
The nonprofit Environmental Working Group, a longtime critic of the federal crop insurance program based in Washington, analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and showed that drought accounts for more crop insurance payouts than any other weather...
DROUGHT & DEMAND: Water conservation a focal point as new style of developments arrive in New Braunfels, Comal County
Hill Country Alliance program director Cliff Kaplan works across the region to promote responsible water use. “It’s kind of become a cliché to say that water is life, but of course, it’s true,” Kaplan said. “None of our communities can exist without water, and if...
Saved from sprawl: Deal on ranch in Comal County part of efforts to protect water for S.A.
Under a new conservation easement, held by the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy, Moore and Dischinger have guaranteed that the land will remain as it is in perpetuity, preventing it from being turned into more suburban sprawl. The agreement also protects vital acres on the...
Exclusive: Travis County reaches $90M deal for 1,500 acre wilderness park near Spicewood
The $90 million purchase, the largest amount for a buy in Travis County Parks’ history, was made possible by voters’ approval last November of a $276 million bond for parks and land acquisition, as well as the decision by Scott’s mother, Nadya Scott, to donate roughly...
Wastewater plans make Hill Country residents worry Pedernales River could turn into ‘sewer’
Landowners are concerned about the future of the Pedernales River after recent filings for wastewater permits at two developments. The permits ask for permission from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to discharge treated wastewater on land near the river....
Fight ensues over pristine Texas land purchased by billionaire for luxury resort: ‘The alarms went off when people in this area first heard’
Part of the area, perhaps "one of the last remaining ecosystems" in the state, according to the Austin American-Statesman, has been in Lew Adams' family since the 1940s. The creek and springs feed the Pedernales River, which ran dry in each of the last two summers....
New trail in San Marcos will connect natural areas on aquifer recharge zone
Hikers will be able to walk — by next March at the latest — from one pristine natural area to another on a new trail planned near San Marcos. The “Limestone Link” trail will run between River Recharge Natural Area and Ringtail Ridge Natural Area on the west side of...
‘Kerrville Runs On Water’
An appropriate rain filled afternoon marked the official unveiling of the new mural Saturday on the East End Market building on Water Street. The event was sponsored by the Kerrville Runs on Water and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority. The massive mural was painted...
Is Austin going to run out of water?
On an unseasonably warm day in 2023, conservationist Robert Mace looked down into the clear spring waters near San Marcos and saw signs of trouble. As executive director at the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, he spends his days studying the ecology south...
Species identified around Natural Bridge Caverns suggest Hill Country protections needed
The first results of a biodiversity study at the Wuest Ranch — home to Natural Bridge Caverns — are in, and environmental experts say they highlight the need for Hill Country habitat protections. The yearlong effort by the Wuest family and Blackland Environmental...
128 acres of Hill Country habitat and history protected forever
In 2005, Dr. Errol and Susan Candy purchased a 128-acre property nestled in western Gillespie County. Initially viewed as a strategic investment opportunity, this venture blossomed into a profound commitment to conservation and environmental stewardship. Revered as...
Hill Country water quality: Challenges and solutions
From supporting a vibrant recreation-based economy, to sustaining our drinking water supplies, clean and clear rivers are the heart of the Hill Country. They have drawn people to the region for centuries. The recent decade of explosive growth and development has...
Formal complaint filed against Aqua Texas for using ‘illegal groundwater supply’
The Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA) has filed a formal complaint with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) over practices employed by Aqua Texas, the association announced Wednesday. TESPA claims the company serves its customers with an...
Hackers target the Muleshoe, Texas water system – not for ransom, but as a test
According to cybersecurity experts, Texas is in the crosshairs of attempts by hackers trying to attack critical infrastructure. And it’s happening in unexpected places, like the tiny town of Muleshoe, Texas, where the water system overflowed in January after a hacker...
Texas pilot program 1st to convert drainage water into drinking water
The winds blow hard here in these rural, agricultural farmlands called the “delta” in deep South Texas, where water is considered “liquid gold,” and officials experiment with how to turn drainage water into drinkable water as this region wrestles with drought. On...
Texas developers love big thirsty lawns. That’s a huge problem for the State’s water supply.
If you’re a native Texan, or if you’ve lived here awhile, you’ve probably had it drilled into your head: don’t waste water. And you’ve likely noticed how our ever-hotter, ever-drier summers are wreaking havoc on our aquifers, reservoirs, rivers, trees, and landscapes....
Groundwater feeds creeks and imagination
Paul Babb chronicles his life by rivers. Born just south of the Red River, Babb recalls touchstone encounters with the Red before his family moved to the Brazos and later to the Sabine in East Texas. He has called the rivers of the Texas Hill Country home for more...
San Marcos River reports first North American river otters in 70 years
Summertime is on the horizon and it is just about time to hop into Central Texas rivers to escape the heat. Meanwhile, a long-missed river animal is also heading back to the cool waters. Otter sightings have reportedly been happening in the area, marking a change from...
Why we have lawns
Many envision the ‘perfect’ American lawn as a lush, uniform green carpet that covers their outdoor space. But beneath this verdant facade lies a complex social history and significant environmental dilemma. The lawns that stretch across the United States, covering an...
Canyon Lake just set new record low water level, and it’s continuing to fall
South Texas has experienced a few thunderstorms over the past couple of weeks, bringing locally heavy rainfall and even a bit of hail into the region. San Antonio picked up 1.34 inches of rain on April 9-10, bringing the city’s 2024 total up to 9.96 inches. That is...
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asks state to halt new cement plant permits until 2025
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the state’s environmental agency, to halt approving permits for cement production plants in Texas until the 2025 legislative session. Patrick’s letter to TCEQ Chair Jon Niermann on Tuesday...
NWF Wins Environmental Flow Protections in the Guadalupe River Basin
A Travis County District Court Judge ruled in favor of the National Wildlife Federation, reversing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s decision to issue a water rights permit to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (“GBRA”). The permit would have allowed...
Comal County adopts parks and open space plan
What began more than a year ago as an initiative to secure grant funding for Comal County sports fields culminated Thursday in a lengthy — and at times heated — discussion among commissioners and residents about the role of government, property rights, and natural...
Don’t throw away those eclipse glasses. Here’s how to recycle them in Austin.
Once the eclipse has come and gone, you might be tempted to throw out your viewing glasses. The next total solar eclipse in Central Texas won’t be for at least 300 more years. But that doesn’t mean eclipses won’t happen elsewhere in the world. Read more from Luz...
Hill Country’s eclipse worries: Jammed roads, supply shortages
As local officials prepare for an influx of their own, they’ve been reviewing reports from the last eclipse and finishing up their own emergency plans — and warning local residents who can stay home to hunker down and stay out of the chaos. “We’ve been planning for...
‘Our lakes are drying up’: Central Texas Water Coalition urges Lakeway residents to conserve
Lakeway residents were urged to conserve water during a presentation by the Central Texas Water Coalition—an organization focused on protecting the water supply in the Highland Lakes—at a City Council meeting March 18. In July, Travis County officials sent a request...