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News
2023 Hill Country photo contest winners picked; 2024 calendar for sale
Winners in the Hill Country Alliance's 2023 photo contest have been announced. The top pictures capturing Central Texas' diverse wildlife, clear springs, sprawling rural landscapes, historic towns, and bright stars illustrate the HCA's 2024 calendar, on sale now. The...
Hill Country conference brings communities together for sustainable water solutions
A recent conference in Boerne brought local leaders and officials together to learn about sustainable water practices and conservation efforts in the Hill Country. The conference was organized in partnership between the City of Boerne, the Cibolo Center for...
One Water: How a Hill Country school is trying a new way to save water
The soccer field outside Blue Hole Primary School in Wimberley is green — almost shockingly green, considering that drought, water restrictions and a hot summer have left most of the grass around it baked and brown. But the school isn’t watering the field with...
Texans shape our water future
Water has always shaped Texas. Even before it was Texas, water marked where civilizations settled. In the 17th century, water determined where missions and trade routes were established. Today, it dictates the location of semiconductor plants and the growth of our...
Protecting the Trinity: Why the San Antonio area’s other aquifer is so important
The Trinity Aquifer is a key water source for the San Antonio and Hill Country area, and its health plays a key role in the health of another important water source, the Edwards Aquifer, which provides water for more than 2 million people. Protecting the Trinity and...
Why are riparian areas important?
Most Texans recognize that water bodies provide essential benefits such as drinking water, recreation, irrigation water and ecosystem benefits, but do you know why the areas of land surrounding those water sources are critically important? “Riparian areas are...
2023 Hill Country photo contest winners announced and 2024 Calendar for sale!
The 2023 Hill Country Calendar is sold out! If you did not yet order your calendars, you'll have to wait until 2024. While we're sorry for folks who missed out this year, we are so grateful for the support of everyone that has ordered. Thank you to all who supported...
1,766 acres of Hill Country habitat protected forever
Texas Land Conservancy is thrilled to announce the permanent protection of 79 Ranch, a 1,766-acre oasis of rolling hills, canyons, and limestone bluffs along Hogg Bluff Creek in Mason County. 79 Ranch is an expansive property in western Mason County that encompasses...
Call to action for our Neighbors in Taylor
When it comes to shifting our region towards more fiscally and environmentally responsible development patterns, Hill Country communities benefit from banding together with our neighbors east of I-35. Bastrop and Taylor, for example, have made great strides in...
UTSA and Harvard bring eclipse to visually impaired Texans with LightSound
While there’s been a lot of talk of eclipse glasses and watch parties and as so many Texans prepare to look up at the sky Saturday for the partial solar eclipse, there’s a group of Lone Star residents who can’t experience the myth-shrouded phenomenon: the visually...
Water wells are drying up in Western Comal County — Can the Trinity Aquifer be saved?
A retiree in his 80s who has lived on two acres of land in Bulverde for 15 years is packing up and getting ready to walk away from his home. His water well, which once produced 7 1/2 gallons of water per minute from the Trinty Aquifer, is dry. He pays a water hauler...
Local leaders convene in Sabinal to discuss rural economic development
Last month, business and community leaders from Sabinal and across the rural Hill Country gathered for a Rural Roundup Event in Sabinal focused on creating homegrown economic opportunities in Hill Country towns. The event was co-organized by the Hill Country Alliance...
TWDB explores nature-based solutions to mitigate flooding in Texas
Flooding is the most common and deadly disaster in the state that has plagued Texans for generations, costing billions in property damage—and worse, loss of lives. So, when it comes to addressing the most challenging water issues across the nearly 269,000 square miles...
Summer of record heat deals costly damage to Texas water systems
The hottest summer on record for many Texas cities has brought millions of dollars in damage to municipal plumbing and the loss of huge volumes of water during a severe drought. Authorities across the state are struggling to keep up with widespread leakage even as...
10 things every elected leader should know about building strong towns
Strong Towns believes local government is the most direct and important form in shaping policies that affect our daily lives. We support anyone who steps up to devote their time and energy to their communities, and know that there are things you can do at all levels...
Our water matters: Coping with drought in Central Texas
The Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts held its largest-ever annual Groundwater Summit in San Antonio last week with over 400 attendees. The summit kicked off with a lively panel moderated by John Dupnik of the Texas Water Development Board on “Managing...
America is using up its groundwater like there’s no tomorrow
Global warming has focused concern on land and sky as soaring temperatures intensify hurricanes, droughts and wildfires. But another climate crisis is unfolding, underfoot and out of view. Many of the aquifers that supply 90 percent of the nation’s water systems, and...
Concern growing about region’s future water needs
The Edwards Aquifer Authority is currently under a Stage 4 critical period management permit reduction for permit holders in Uvalde County. Edwards groundwater permit holders within Uvalde County are required to reduce their annual authorized pumping by 35%. The...
‘Like liquid gold’: Central Texans turning to rainwater collection amid drought
Even though there hasn’t been a consistent amount of rain in Central Texas for the last few months, one local business said many people are turning to them for rainwater collection tanks. It is in such high demand, one farmer is on a months-long wait list to get one....
SAWS to temporarily cut service of chronic offenders of water restrictions
The San Antonio Water System plans to temporarily cut service to customers who are chronic offenders of the water restrictions. This new penalty is in addition to over 6,000 citations SAWS has issued to their customers for violating restrictions. Read more from Kayla...
Residents concerned proposed private dam on South Llano River could affect Austin’s drinking water supply
Residents of Llano and Edwards counties are fighting a pending Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permit that could have implications on Austin’s drinking water supply. An application filed by Waterstone Creek LLC seeks authorization to “construct and maintain...
Heat, drought and population growth have stressed aquifers that supply water to millions of Texans
Almost every other day, Charlie Flatten gets a call about another local water well gone dry. Last week, he tried to help one woman find a water truck to fill her home cistern. But all the hauling companies had suspended service amid a deepening shortage in Central...
Dry Springs in Central Texas Warn of Water Shortage Ahead
Almost every other day, Charlie Flatten gets a call about another local water well gone dry. Last week, he tried to help one woman find a water truck to fill her home cistern. But all the hauling companies had suspended service amid a deepening shortage in Central...
‘Faucet got turned off’: Hill Country lakes, streams struggling as drought drags on
Paul Bertetti, the Edwards Aquifer Authority’s senior director for aquifer science research and modeling, said the drought is a long-term issue for the aquifer, which started the year with water levels about 30 feet below historical norms “We’ve been exceedingly dry,...
Hays groundwater district says water company overused 89M gallons in 2022, impacting Jacob’s Well zone
A groundwater district in Hays County said one Central Texas water provider overpumped nearly 90 million gallons of water in 2022, leading to “by far” the largest penalties for overuse in the district, which manages the Jacob’s Well zone. The Hays Trinity Groundwater...
The invisible laws that led to America’s housing crisis
In the 1910s, US cities began enacting policies that would shape neighborhoods and, unintentionally, lay the roots for the severe housing shortage today: single-family zoning laws. Zoning laws, at their most basic, follow a simple concept. In one part of town, only...
‘It’s heartbreaking’: Jacob’s Well stops flowing for sixth time in recorded history
Jacob's Well, the popular spring-fed swimming hole in Wimberley, has reached zero flow for the sixth time in its recorded history. All six of those times have occurred in the last 23 years — and it's become more frequent. Earlier this summer, the Hays County park...
Comal Springs have only stopped flowing once in recorded history. Could it happen again?
The impacts of the current long-term drought are far-reaching. Jacob’s Well is closed, San Antonio Water System has stepped up enforcement of water usage and Canyon Lake is nearing an all-time low. These are all bad situations, but it could become even more critical...
The battle for Zilker Park
It’s not all bad news. There is, at the very least, widespread consensus that Zilker is in dire need of assistance. But what that help looks like—and how much it costs—has become the latest chapter in a long-running and increasingly hostile debate about how much...
Eclipse roundtables ‘like preparing for a hurricane’ in the Hill Country
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — The Hill Country Alliance, a non-profit focused on conserving and protecting the Texas Hill Country, will host the latest of its Hill Country Eclipse Roundtables on July 25th. The total solar eclipse, happening on April 8th, 2024, is...