News
Environmental group sues water pipeline partner for information
Arguing that partners in a proposed multibillion-dollar water pipeline proposed for Austin’s eastern flank should divulge more information about the workings of the project, an Austin environmental group has filed an open records lawsuit in state District Court. The...
Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Council Approves $1.4 Million in Grant Awards
The Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Council today approved land trust funding totaling $1.4 million for a wide array of conservation easements to help bring more than 14,300 acres of the state’s high-value working farm and ranch lands under long term...
Rainwater Harvest as a solution to drought and flood?
Stormwater is starting to get some serious attention in California, as the state’s drought enters a fifth year. Thanks in part to El Niño, rain has been surging through downspouts and gutters lately. And a lot of it: one storm in Los Angeles County, packing one inch...
How much is the urban forest of Austin worth? More than you might think
Trees within the city limits of Austin, Texas contribute nearly $34 million in ecosystem services to the community annually, according to a new report by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). From May to October 2014, researchers from the Texas A&M Forest Service...
Spring Break is here and it’s time to capture those bluebonnets! Be sure to submit your favorite shots to the HCA Photo Contest
Houston Chronicle - If you have driven down our state highways lately you have probably seen the state flower, the bluebonnet, dotting roadsides and grassy expanses. Yes, Lupinus texensis has returned, along with warmer temperatures. It was a warm winter that led to...
The high cost of sprawl in San Antonio: a look at Hausman Road
" It’s sprawl relief, a costly fix to a traffic problem caused by unplanned growth. The result is that taxpayers across the city are paying the bill for upgrades needed in the aftermath of continuing suburban sprawl.” The Rivard Report - To understand the funding...
Golden-cheeked Warblers return to the Hill Country
Golden-cheeked Warblers (GCWA) are beginning to arrive within their Hill Country haunts. Many more of these birds will arrive over the next couple of weeks. The Golden-cheeked’s scientific name, Setophaga chrysoparia, translates to golden cheek moth eater; moth eater...
Arsenic persists in some Texas water supplies
Drinking water systems serving 51,000 people in several dozen rural Texas communities exceeded federal drinking water standards for arsenic for more than a decade, according to a report to be published Monday by an environmental group. The Environmental Integrity...
Public comment period on draft 2017 State Water Plan is now open
Your voice matters! Texas Water Development Board is taking public comment on the draft 2017 State Water Plan. Here is HCA’s Water Planning page with a good explanation of the state water planning process, our written Public Comments for the proposed 2017 plan, and a...
Pipeline builder, through nonprofit, seeks $885 million state loan
The company contracted to build a pipeline for the San Antonio Water System has applied for an $885 million low-interest state loan to finance the project. SAWS officials have often said in public meetings and interviews that financing for the 142-mile pipeline that...
Burnet County Master Naturalist receives lifetime achievement award for volunteer service
At a recent meeting of the Highland Lake Master Naturalists, Sammye Childers was presented with the nation’s highest honor for volunteer service - a Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution of over 4,000 hours of volunteer service. Along with the presidential...
The 2016 Photo Contest has begun!
The Hill Country Alliance's annual photo contest has returned. The call for entries runs March 1st through May 31st. Winners receive cash prizes and a feature in HCA's 2017 Texas Hill Country Calendar. Visit the 2016 Photo Contest page to learn more and enter your...
Exciting changes are happening at HCA!
Wonderful things are happening at the Hill Country Alliance! As we launch our second decade working to build awareness and conversation around the treasured natural resources of the Hill Country, we invite you to join us in welcoming new HCA staff leadership and a...
Pipeline company files eminent domain lawsuits against Big Bend landowners
Land disputes involving the Trans-Pecos Pipeline have made their way to district court. At least 12 eminent domain lawsuits have been filed in Brewster and Presidio counties by the company behind the planned 143-mile, 42-inch natural gas pipeline. Under eminent...
Washed-out Fischer Store Rd Bridge reopens
Folks near Wimberley have something big to celebrate. Today the washed-out Fischer Store Road bridge over the Blanco River officially reopened. If you don't understand the excitement in the reopening of this bridge today, you don't understand how important it is to...
Purchase of Texas Water Alliance Moves GBRA Closer to Starting Mid-Basin Project
In a deal that will pave the way for Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) officials to fulfill the groundwater component of its Mid-Basin Project, the GBRA Board of Directors approved the river authority’s purchase of Texas Water Alliance Limited (TWA), from SJW...
In Major Water Case, Win for Ranchers is Loss For Cities
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday handed a victory to farmers, ranchers and other longstanding water rights holders by declining to take up a Brazos River case with widespread implications for future water battles in drought-prone Texas. Denying a state petition for...
Edwards Aquifer Authority must shell out to pecan farmers
The government agency in charge of the Edwards Aquifer must pay two pecan farmers upwards of $2.5 million for limiting their groundwater pumping, a jury decided. The verdict came as welcome news to Glenn and JoLynn Bragg. The couple has been in litigation with the...
Conservation Easement 101: What Is a Conservation Easement?
As development in Texas increases, lands that have been in families for generations are at a greater risk of fragmentation and development than ever before. Many are beginning to look to conservation easements to protect family lands for future generations. But what...
Pecan farmers at the center of historic groundwater case
A Medina County jury will decide this week how much the Edwards Aquifer Authority should pay a pecan-farming couple for limiting the water they can pump from below their land. The lawsuit involving farmers Glenn and JoLynn Bragg has been in litigation for 10 years....
Win for farmers confirms state water rights system
In a win for farmers, ranchers and longtime water rights holders, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday let stand a Brazos River basin decision that limits the power of the state to divvy up water during drought. Farmers along the Brazos River, whose basin includes...
UT study: More development regulation needed
A major new study on protecting the Hill Country from unrelenting population growth and land development was recently unveiled for Comal County residents. “People love this place and they really want to be here and appreciate the beauty that the Hill Country has to...
Abengoa Vista Ridge announces that it will sell 80 percent of its share in the SAWS pipeline project
San Antonio Water System officials today released a list of firms interested in buying into the Vista Ridge pipeline project. Brookfield Global Infrastructure Advisor Ltd., John Laing Group PLC and the Blackstone Group have all submitted formal proposals to Abengoa...
Rehabilitation of Herff Homestead in Boerne Receives 2016 Honor Award
Preservation Texas, Inc. has announced that the rehabilitation of the Herff Homestead in Boerne, Texas, will receive a 2016 Honor Award on February 18, 2016. The Honor Award will be presented at a special ceremony at the historic State Theatre on Congress Avenue in...
The Stars At Night are big and bright—and ready for their close-up
Texas is full of wide-open spaces perfect for gazing at the night sky. This month, five planets will line up and be visible to the naked eye for the first time in decade. Check out some of the best places in Texas to view the night sky and learn about star gazing...
USDA announces $6 million for monarch program
Thousands of acres of private land across Texas and eight Midwestern and Plains states could become better habitat for vulnerable monarch butterflies, thanks to a federal grant program. U.S. Department of Agriculture officials Friday announced $720 million in funding...
Some City Council members want say on pipeline contract revision
The City Council is divided over whether the San Antonio Water System should allow the company planning to build a water pipeline from Burleson County to sell most of its stake in the project without council approval. District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg is leading a...
Proposed Texas Water Grid to Share Water Statewide
"In order to have a sustainable Texas—both the economy and the supporting environment— we must realize that water is in a special category. If we overbuild or overuse our water resources or pollute them too badly, there are NO substitutes. Research this matter and...
Expert: Vista Ridge/Abengoa generates plenty of intrigue
It started out, by most accounts, as a good business deal. "The return was estimated to be upwards of 12 percent over a 30-year period, so this was a pretty fantastic project,” said David Vequist, a professor of management at the University of the Incarnate Word of...
What’s under Texas? A LOT of brackish groundwater!
Resting under Texas, there is more than 2.7 billion acre-feet of brackish groundwater in the state's minor and major aquifers. To put that into perspective, the total conservation capacity (water supply) for reservoirs monitored by the Texas Water Development Board...