News
One Water in action: Austin’s new permit center proves the city is serious about water reuse
You don’t normally expect to learn about the true potential of blackwater on your way to getting a tree permit. That’s now likely to happen to attentive visitors to Austin’s new Permitting and Development Center (PDC). And it’s exactly what the city wants—developers...
Helotes Canyon watershed’s future at stake with Guajolote Tract decision
Helotes Canyon northwest of San Antonio has seen its share of small-scale development, but the water in Helotes Creek still flows clear and plentiful as it makes its way downstream toward the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. But with developer Lennar Homes planning the...
Dredging zones on two scenic lakes are selected
The Lower Colorado River Authority has limited large-scale dredging on the Highland Lakes to four zones where industrial operators may remove, process, stockpile and resell sediment from the lake bottoms. Three are on Lake LBJ. A fourth is on Lake Buchanan. Read more...
36 more deaths attributed to February 2021 snowstorm, raising total to 246
The death total for the historic February 2021 snowstorm continues to rise as 36 additional deaths were confirmed to be linked to the storm in the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS)'s final report on the disaster, bringing the statewide total to 246....
Covid is rampant among deer, research shows
Humans have infected wild deer with Covid-19 in a handful of states, and there’s evidence that the coronavirus has been spreading among deer, according to recent studies that outline findings that could complicate the path out of the pandemic. Read more from Evan Bush...
Disturbing the waters: Plan to dredge lakes threatens a scenic Hill Country treasure
Created by dams nearly a century ago, the Highland Lakes in the Hill Country long have been a haven for vacationers and second-home dwellers seeking a scenic escape from city life and the noisy disruptions of traffic and industry. Their serenity is about to be broken....
Austin restaurateur wants Texans to save the environment — by eating wild hogs
In Austin’s Cherrywood Neighborhood, the Dai Due restaurant has an unusual menu item — a wild boar confit. The rich flavor profile is created with all locally sourced ingredients, cook Henry Tiles explained. Read more from Dominic Anthony Walsh with Texas Public Radio...
‘Careful what we ask for’: Dripping Springs battles major Hill Country growing pains, development issues
Diane and Chuck McClaferty live and work on a Dripping Springs ranch. It’s been in Chuck McClaferty’s family for 85 years. They raise beef cattle. They keep honeybees. And a proposed four-lane highway would run right through the middle of their land. Read more from...
Saving ‘the edge of night’: Starry-sky admirers fight light pollution in the Hill Country amid growth, development
Chris Hill peered through the lens of the telescope in his backyard one cold night, looking into the sea of stars and galaxies that pepper the night sky like grains of sand. He walked to a pair of computers nearby and pressed a few buttons. A picture came into focus:...
Porcupines, or ‘cuddly cactuses,’ popping up more in Central Texas
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the species appears to be expanding its range eastward. Its range in Texas normally is limited to the western portion of the state, including the Panhandle and parts of the Hill Country. Read more from Chrissy Mazzone with...
How to be an anti-racist geoscience organization
I’ve had this paper in the hopper for a while, waiting for the courage to write about it, in large part due to the controversy over Critical Race Theory but also — and perhaps primarily — because I am an old(ish), white, straight male fearful of saying (or writing)...
How cattle ranchers can combat climate change
Texas relies on the multibillion-dollar cattle industry for economic success and the conservation of our iconic landscape — the two are not mutually exclusive. Ranchers have a devotion to the land that sustains their livelihood, as it did for generations before them....
Texas Innovation Corridor future development project launches
Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP) and Watershed Partners, a program of WVWA, jointly launched the Texas Innovation Corridor (TxIC) Future Development project Nov. 15, celebrating funding approval in October from GSMP’s board matched equally by WVWA. The $43,000,...
Wimberley Trail project receives state funds
The Wimberley Trail Project has received approval of more than $970,000 in funds from the Texas Transportation Commission for sidewalk infrastructure. The money will fund sidewalks connecting Wimberley High School, Danforth Junior High School, Wimberley Market Days...
Lipan Apache tribal members gather in Presidio to celebrate historic land transfer
Standing among the graves in Presidio’s Cementerio del Barrio de los Lipanes, members of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas met with Big Bend residents this weekend to mark a historic occasion. Some 200 years after Lipanes began buying their dead on what was then a peace...
Too much of a good thing — Dripping Springs extends moratorium on new development
The city of Dripping Springs has extended its moratorium on new development until late February amid concerns about rapid growth and insufficient infrastructure. The small Hays County town, known as the “Gateway to the Hill Country,” enacted the moratorium on Nov. 18....
Clemente Guzman’s celebration of river life selected for 2021 Texas Book Festival poster art
The Texas Book Festival selected a painting titled Viva Texas Rivers! by San Antonio-based artist Clemente Guzman as the featured poster art for the 26th annual Texas Book Festival, held in Austin Oct. 25-31, 2021. The artwork celebrates the state’s life and culture...
This water is my water
An old fight over water is coming to a boil in Central Texas, a fight with all the conflict and character of an old western movie. There are farmers up in arms and big-city charmers, empire builders and nervous politicians. The very life of the prettiest river in...
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,...