News
In Bandera County, neighbors fight plans to discharge wastewater from youth camp
TARPLEY – Charles and John Blackwell stood at the edge of their property with their neighbor Margo Denke Griffin and pointed out the clear water pouring across their land in Commissioners Creek. “You can always see the bottom,” Charles Blackwell said of the creek,...
Making the connection: Watersheds and our water supplies
The heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding Central Texas faced a few weeks ago broke records and served as an important reminder about the connection between land and water. After experiencing one of the wettest Septembers on the state’s record, followed by...
Canadian utility company EPCOR tapped to operate SAWS’ Vista Ridge Pipeline
A utility owned by the Canadian city of Edmonton has been chosen to operate the San Antonio Water System’s Vista Ridge pipeline, creating a business relationship that will last at least 30 years. SAWS’ board of trustees on Tuesday passed a resolution consenting to...
Pipeline project running through Hill Country raises concern
WIMBERLEY, Texas (KXAN) — A $2 billion pipeline project has landowners in the Hill Country concerned about their property. The project is backed by Kinder Morgan Texas Pipeline, a company out of Houston and EagleClaw Midstream Ventures. In a press release issued by...
They wish there were more jobs, but rural Texans are happy where they are, poll finds
Texans in the rural counties that make up the vast majority of the state’s geography are overwhelmingly happy with their quality of life, about their public schools and the quality of the natural environment around them, according to the 2018 Future of Rural Texas...
Texas Stream Team trains 10,000th citizen scientist; lands TCEQ grant to support water monitoring
Texas Stream Team, part of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, has been awarded a $427,000 grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to expand the program’s citizen science efforts and education across...
Dennis Bonnen says he has the votes to become the next speaker of the Texas House
State Rep. Dennis Bonnen announced Monday that he has support from 109 members to become the next speaker of the Texas House. That number, if it holds, is more than enough votes for him to win the gavel. The Angleton Republican’s announcement came at a press...
Weird, late monarch butterfly migration finally reaches Mexico
Migrating monarch butterflies finally made it to the Mexican mountains last week–late, but intact. For months, scientists and citizen scientists have been predicting the largest migration in a decade, but the insects have taken their time arriving at their winter...
Permian highway pipeline
Exxon Mobil joins Houston-based Kinder Morgan in partnership with Midland-based EagleClaw Midstream on the $2 billion Permian Highway Pipeline. The 42-inch buried natural gas pipeline will be 430 miles starting north of Fort Stockton and stretching across much of...
Dem stuns GOP for top county seat
An underdog Democratic candidate stunned a former 14-year commissioner Tuesday to take the highest elected office in Hays County. Ruben Becerra, a San Marcos business owner, defeated Will Conley by 2,649 votes, according to unofficial, final results. All results will...
2018 election results: Austin shoots down Props J and K, approves $925 million in bonds
A huge victory for local land conservation came out of yesterday's election: $184 million for flood mitigation, $72 million of which will be used for open space protection around Austin.“Proposition D passed with 84% of the vote, the largest approval percentage of all...
Texas Water Symposium will explore extreme flooding in the Lone Star state
The next recording of the Texas Water Symposium is planned for 7pm on Thursday, November 15th with a conversation about how man-made infrastructure can influence flooding in Hill Country creeks and rivers. The program, titled The future of flooding in Texas: How do we...
November Director’s Notes: Giving Thanks
November marks a time to give thanks, and to take the opportunity to step back from the many demands of our daily lives to reflect on all we have to be grateful for. It is also a great time to recognize our growing family within the Hill Country community. It seems...
LCRA dinged for hiring practices and lack of transparency
Even as the Lower Colorado River Authority, the utility that supplies water to more than a million Central Texans, is a “sophisticated, well-functioning organization,” it lacks transparency and should hire more women and people of color, according to a state report...
We have to save the planet. So I’m donating $1 billion.
WILSON, Wyo. — Plant and animal species are estimated to be disappearing at a rate 1,000 times faster than they were before humans arrived on the scene. Climate change is upending natural systems across the planet. Forests, fisheries and drinking water supplies are...
TPWD addresses concerns about fish, aquatic habitat after heavy flooding in Central Texas
AUSTIN – As flood waters recede in the Llano, Colorado, Pedernales and other central Texas rivers, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologists are fielding questions from anglers and other members of the public concerning the impacts of flooding on fish...
Land for water
The city is asking voters to send more money to a little-known program that protects Barton Springs. On a warm August morning, I stand in the dry bed of Onion Creek in Hays County and watch as Kevin Thuesen lowers himself into a hole in the earth. I pay attention when...
Hill Country Alliance hosting Nov. 3 workshop on management of riparian areas
The riparian areas, those slices of land alongside creeks and rivers, make up a very small percentage of the total land mass, yet they play a crucial role in the environment and land health. The problem is many landowners with creeks, or even lakes, on or bordering...
New Mexico blazing a dark sky trail
While New Mexico has long been a destination for dark sky enthusiasts, there had been no organized effort to promote dark sky tourism until the state’s Tourism Department got involved. On a visit to Capulin Volcano National Monument in the fall of 2017, staff members...
Private well water screening set for Nov. 6 in Llano
LLANO —The Texas Well Owner Network is hosting a water well screening Nov. 6 in Llano to give area residents the opportunity to have their well water screened. The screening will be from 8:30–10 a.m. Nov. 6 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office for...
$76M Fredericksburg resort, conference center ready to break ground
Construction is expected to start soon on a massive project in the Hill Country town of Fredericksburg. [vcex_spacing size="30px"] The Houston-based developer of The Seven Hills Resort and Conference Center said he's received all the necessary approvals to start work...
Texas’ water quality challenge and the need for better communication in an era of increasing water quality contamination events
As Texas cities experience an increase in incidents associated with water quality contamination, the need for public education and engagement increases. The discussion in this paper identifies, based on publicly available data, three of the most common incidents in...
Meeting set on Tarpley wastewater plan
Landowners near a Christian summer camp planned in the Tarpley area have scheduled an organizational meeting to examine the camp’s plans to dump 49,000 gallons a day of treated wastewater into an area creek and to decide if a more environmentally sound treatment plan...
Austin boil water order in effect while utility pleads for reduced water consumption
A boil water notice remains in effect for Austin Water customers, and the city of Austin is pleading for people to slash their water consumption by 15 to 20 percent. Outdoor water use is being banned as part of what officials describe as an emergency situation. On...
The country’s cheapest water is in the West’s driest cities
Economists and a public policy expert at the University of Minnesota who looked into block pricing for water in the nation’s largest urban areas, including 11 Western cities, discovered a pattern they conclude is neither sustainable nor just: Many of the driest cities...
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park to conduct water system assessment after tests find Legionella bacteria in water
STONEWALL, TX – This week, the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park received results of environmental water tests that were positive for Legionella bacteria at three sites: the pool house, the Klein shop, and the hangar visitor center. While there have been no...
Four Missing in Junction Flooding Identified as Search Continues
SAN ANGELO, TX -- The search continues in Junction for the four people missing in the recent flooding. Oct. 8, the Llano River in Junction reached flood stage with over 118,000 cubic-feet-per second pouring into the confluence of the North and South Llano Rivers...
Ecological Restoration Conference Taking Place November 9-11
Ecological Restoration Conference Taking Place November 9-11 Media Contact: Julia Stanford, info@txser.org or 817-301-9371 The Texas Society for Ecological Restoration will hold their 23rd Annual Conference November 9-11, 2018 at San Antonio River Authority in San...
October Director’s Notes: FESTIVAL, Rainwater Raffle and more!
The recent rains that have fallen across the Hill Country have me looking forward to HCA’s Hill Country Living + Rainwater Revival FESTIVAL, which is right around the corner! One of the things that I am most proud of at the Hill Country Alliance is the work we do to...
Festival in Dripping Springs celebrates Hill Country living
The Hill Country Living + Rainwater Revival FESTIVAL returns to the Dripping Spring Ranch Park on Saturday, October 20, from 10am to 5pm. This free, one-day event promises something for everyone who loves the Texas Hill Country – whether you live there now, plan a...