News
Water worries in Texas, worldwide as weather extremes multiply
Water worries are a central element of growing concerns about climate change, which sometimes contributes to meteorological situations with far too much rain and sometimes to others with way too little. Either way, both flooding and drought/heat wave conditions, along...
Expert says a $3 billion infusion won’t solve the state’s water infrastructure problems — ‘but it’s a good start’
Water infrastructure systems across Texas are falling into disrepair. This year, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the state’s drinking water infrastructure the not-so satisfactory grade of a C-minus. And as Texas’ population continues to grow, experts say...
Nature can reduce costs, extend life of infrastructure projects
A newly published article could prompt discussion around adoption of construction designs and methods that utilize nature to cut costs, extend project lifecycles and improve ecological synergy, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist. The lead author...
Texas groundwater supplies in danger, reports say
Across Texas, groundwater is being pumped out of aquifers so quickly that more wells are in danger of going dry, and more springs and surface water may begin to dry up, according to two reports released on Tuesday. Statewide, Texas is losing groundwater at nearly...
Fahrenheit 140 – Texas Climate Predictions and Potty Training Cows
What weather extremes can Texans expect to see into 2036? How can we prepare for the intensifying natural disasters that Texas is experiencing? Hosts Robert Mace and Carrie Thompson talk with Texas State Climatologist Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon to get the answers to...
talk+water: Kyle Garmany
Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler interviews Kyle Garmany, Water and Agriculture Program Director for the Texas chapter of the Nature Conservancy. In his role at the Nature Conservancy, Garmany is responsible for developing innovative strategies to...
Watershed Association Purchases 74 acres of Dry Cypress for Recharge Protection
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...
Lyndon B. Johnson National Park dubbed International Dark Sky Park
The Lyndon B. Johnson National Park, a historical park and ranch in Texas, received praise for its stunning Hill Country night skies by earning an International Dark Sky Park certification. The award recognizes the exceptional quality of the park's night skies and...
Out of excuses; Secure Hill Country’s fragile water
Here’s something we don’t get to say very often: It’s been a promising month for water in the Hill Country. With record sprawl pushing ever westward from I-35 and climate change threatening an age of Texan megadroughts, the water future of the Hill Country has looked...
New evidence COVID-19 is widespread in deer
A new study has found high rates of SARS CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) exposure and active infection among white-tailed deer tested across Iowa. Previously, antibodies detected in deer suggested exposure to the virus, but this is the first confirmation of...
City’s plan on climate might see more action
Within the next decade, San Antonio will be much hotter than ever. Climate change has reached Texas, bringing an array of drought and extreme weather, including intense precipitation, that many project will leave the state dealing with constant emergencies in the near...
Witte exhibit gives Black cowboys their due
Before the Civil War, a quarter of Texas cowboys on cattle drives were Black. Like their white and Tejano counterparts, they had a singular perspective. It was on horseback, 7 feet up. Some of those Black cowboys were free; some were enslaved. Other Black ranch hands,...
Environmental justice in urban development: the problem of green gentrification
Former railroad turned elevated park, the New York City High Line presents a prime example of creating new green spaces to beautify, ameliorate, and revitalize surrounding communities. Although certainly one of the city’s most popular parks, the High Line also serves...
The renewed environmental justice movement is bringing in millions for Texas Southern University
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...
Is it 2021 or 1961 at America’s DOTs?
As a society, we often can't see ourselves in the villains of our history books. Back then was a less enlightened era, we tell ourselves: a more prejudiced one, a more shortsighted or naïve one. The things they did we would surely never do today, because we've...
Southwest states facing tough choices about water as Colorado River diminishes
This past week, California declared a statewide drought emergency. It follows the first-ever federal shortage declaration on the Colorado River, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. The Colorado is the lifeblood of the region. It waters some of the...
The infrastructure bill has passed. What now?
We highly recommend this nuanced take on recent federal infrastructure funding outlined in the article below from Small Towns. While having additional federal infrastructure funding is crucial to the continued success of our changing communities, we also recognize...
Texas adopts new management rules for chronic wasting disease in deer
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopted a new chronic wasting disease management rule package Thursday, regulations mostly geared toward the state’s deer breeding industry. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff believe the update was necessary because the...
Whitetails go from gloom to boom
Things were not looking good for Texas’ white-tailed deer population in January with the U.S. Drought Monitor showing more than 90 percent of the state experiencing abnormally dry to exceptional drought conditions. Then came winter storm Uri in February with freezing...
Water Seed Grant Initiative webinar summarizes project progress
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...
White House to review floodplain building codes in response to petition
The White House on Tuesday announced a series of new proposals for climate initiatives, including new building standards for structures in flood-vulnerable areas. In the fact sheet, the Biden administration announced a comment period for an update to the National...
EPA announces the expected availability of $21.7 million in grant funding to support rural and small water systems
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...
Two distinctive Hill Country wineries show why Texas Wine Month is well worth celebrating
With more than 500 wineries driving an economy valued at $13 billion, it’s clear Texas wine has long passed the all-hat-and-no-cattle phase. That there’s red, white and rosé gold in them there hills is further underscored by other statistical rankings that put the...
If you think the Texas electrical grid is fragile, take a look at our water infrastructure
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...
Already, 18 weather disasters costing at least $1 billion each have hit the U.S. this year
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...
Climate change is making Texas hotter, threatening public health, water supply and the state’s infrastructure
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 —...
All in the Family
Bryan Parras recalls a time in elementary school when he accompanied his dad on a work trip to Nederland, in Texas’ Golden Triangle. The warehouse where his dad organized county workers was “just one open vacant room with a bunch of chairs like you would see in a...
Return on Investment: How putting a dollar figure on the value of conserved lands can help save more of them
The fall issue of the Land Trust Alliance Saving Land magazine highlights recent grants to land trusts for remote monitoring projects, transformative partnerships between land trusts and Indigenous groups and NRI's work to define the economic value of protected lands....
25% of all critical infrastructure in the US is at risk of failure due to flooding, new report finds
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...
Building the Texas Water Data Hub from the ground up
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....