News
Big Bend Conservation Alliance hires Executive Director
Alpine - The Big Bend Conservation Alliance (BBCA) is pleased to announce the appointment of James “J.D.” Newsom as Executive Director. Born and raised in Midland, J.D. grew up surfing the Monahans Sandhills, swimming at Balmorhea, camping at the Buffalo Trail Scout...
Locals ready to fight 430-mile gas pipeline
As Houston-based company Kinder Morgan moves ahead on a proposed 430-mile underground natural gas pipeline that could bisect Hays County, local landowners worry the project could harbor a negative environmental impact. Bill Johnson, owner of the historic Halifax and...
As we grow, streams and rivers need TLC
There were four of five things going on in town last Thursday that I wanted to attend. Typical night in the busy ’Burg, huh? One of them I had to let pass was a forum at Schreiner University dealing with water pollution sponsored by the Hill Country Alliance....
Why are Austin’s trees having such a colorful autumn?
Austin is known for a lot of things, but fall foliage is not one of them. That is, until this year. Local trees are putting on an incredible color show lately. It seems like it came out of nowhere, but it didn’t. “This is my 24th fall in Austin, and I've never seen...
Water Forward plan including artificial aquifers, graywater reuse gets council nod
A 100-year water resiliency plan that calls for massive underground reservoirs and reuse of wastewater is now city policy after gaining the approval of the Austin City Council. The plan, dubbed Water Forward, has been in the works since 2014, when years of drought led...
Sen. Campbell files bill to address quarries, concrete plants in Texas Hill Country
AUSTIN – State Senator Donna Campbell filed Senate Bill 208 today to extend requirements for setbacks, or buffer zones, around aggregate facilities. If passed, the bill would double the current 440 yard requirement between concrete plants or quarries and existing...
State judge sides with Dripping Springs in wastewater permit hearing
The city of Dripping Springs will proceed with its wastewater permit application after a state judge sided with the city on all 12 issues raised by Save Our Springs Alliance—an Austin-area environmental nonprofit. The State Office of Administrative Hearings conducted...
Meyer Ranch to add 1,600 homes in rural northwest
With projects in Georgetown, Liberty Hill and Round Rock, developers Todd McCullough and Randy Rollo of Randolph Todd Development said they had an interest in expanding to the south end of the Austin-San Antonio corridor. Three years ago the Austin-based developers...
Will sewage treatment plants spoil the Hill Country?
The picturesque town of Blanco; a planned Christian recreational adventure camp in Bandera County; a Kerr County alcohol and drug addiction rehabilitation center hoping to treat more patients; a proposed subdivision in Comal County, just upstream of a state natural...
Water symposium addresses the future of flooding in Texas
One month after the destructive flooding of Texas Hill Country rivers led to multiple deaths and tens of millions of dollars in property damage, scientists, regional water management leaders, and academics are still weighing the consequences and the prospect of future...
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...