News & Updates
What can Nebraska teach the American West about managing water? A lot.
Nebraska is one of the top producers of corn, soybeans and hogs in the country. With 91 percent of the state's total land area dedicated to agricultural production, a lot of water is needed to support all of Nebraska's farms and ranches. Fortunately, the state sits...
Cape Town Pushes Back ‘Day Zero’ as Residents Conserve Water
Cape Town residents have drastically lowered their water use, allowing their drought-plagued city to push back the dreaded “Day Zero,” when the system is expected to run dry, by more than 10 weeks. Just three weeks ago, officials were predicting that Cape Town would...
Director’s Report – February 2018
February is the month of love! Here at the Hill Country Alliance, one of the things we love most is the wide-open lands of the Hill Country. Rolling hills, deep canyons, wooded grottos, and wide river basins are just a few of the things that define our special region....
Commissioners debate the creation and funding of a groundwater conservation district in southwest Travis County
Commissioners recently debated over whether to hold an election to create and fund a conservation district that would regulate, protect and conserve the groundwater supply derived from the Trinity Aquifer, one of nine major aquifers in the state. In January 2017, the...
Emerald Crown Trail: Network of county trails closer to fruition
The San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance (SMGA), in partnership with San Marcos, Kyle, Buda and other park development agencies, is looking for a way to connect the three biggest cities in Hays County with a trail. The Emerald Crown Trail is a proposed transportation trail...
Bandera’s outdoor lighting gets refocused
The Bandera City Council last week endorsed the Dark Skies movement that has swept the Hill Country by modifying its outdoor lighting regulations to get outdoor lights focused downward rather than allowing rays to stray into the night sky. The new outdoor lighting...
Groundwater conservation district up and running
With no funding, no staff and a board of temporary directors, the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District is up and running. The body was created with the intent of monitoring and protecting the area’s supply of groundwater, but it must receive...
As World Eyes Cape Town Water Crisis, Texas Study Explores New Options
It's a resource so precious that human life can't be sustained without it, yet so common most of us take it for granted. But water is becoming scarce, a growing problem stemming from wasteful usage and exacerbated by climate change. Cape Town, South Africa, is bracing...
Texas Water Challenges film series premiers
The Texas Water Roundtable has premiered the short film series, Texas Water Challenges. Five ten-minute films on contemporary water issues impacting Texas - water pricing and economics, new water, surface/groundwater coordination, water education, and Texas water...