News
Teacher’s Day out at the Science Mill, August 5-7
K-12 teachers, administrators and employees will receive free admission to the Hill Country Science Mill on August 5-7. Enter now for a chance to win free passes and $100 to spend in the Science Store. Please share with your friends and colleagues!...
Keep Texas Wild: Protect Golden-cheeked Warbler
Joan Marshall, Travis Audubon Society: Texas is known for our Wild West spirit. But if several moneyed interest groups have their way, Texas will become much less wild. As the American-Statesman reported July 2, several groups backed by former Texas Comptroller Susan...
Agenda 21: A conspiracy theory puts sustainability in the crosshairs
Theorists argue that Agenda 21, a 23-year-old non-binding UN resolution that suggests ways for governments and NGOs to promote sustainable development, is the linchpin in a plot to subjugate humanity under an eco-totalitarian regime. Greg Harman, a San Antonio...
State Comptroller approves $300,000 to investigate monarch decline
Texas is getting involved in the investigation into why the monarch butterfly population has declined by more than 80% over the past 20 years. Concerns that the butterfly could become a federally-listed endangered species have prompted Comptroller Glen Hegar to fund...
HCA Co-Sponsors Soil for Water Event
Many Texans are unaware of the importance of soil health in catching and retaining rainwater. Microorganisms build soil organic matter and allow it to function like a sponge: holding rainwater for long periods of time and releasing it slowly into plants, springs,...
El Nino 2015
It seems like there has been a lot of discussion of an El Nino pattern this fall and the potential for higher than normal rainfall. While Texans try to make the most of the rains while we've got them, we wondered- what causes this pattern and what are the impacts in...
Industrial Wind Development Public Meeting July 16 in Mason
Save Our Scenic Hill Country Environment (SOSHCE) will be hosting a meeting July 16th to educate landowners about industrial wind development in Mason and Menard Counties. SOSHE’s recent member update also includes information about attempted legislation to end CREZ,...
The History of Central Texas Floods
Raymond Slade, Jr., Registered Professional Hydrologist has been studying water resources in Central Texas for decades. Catastrophic flooding is not new to this region. Raymond’s studies of historic floods in the Hill Country provides lessons for the entire Hill...
DSHS student grant to fund rainwater catchment system
Elena Lundeen wanted to help the water conservation problem, a need her community knows all too well. Her small idea became a grant-winning initiative that will continue to change the landscape of her school. Lundeen, a Dripping Springs junior, won a $1,000 grant from...
Protecting the nighttime view simple
Erin Green, Llano County Journal: Although light from Austin and other nearby cities is starting to threaten the nighttime darkness of the areas surrounding Llano and the rest of the Texas Hill Country, it is not too late to reverse the trend and protect the views of...
Scenic Texas Announces New Scenic Hill Country Chapter and Leadership
Scenic Texas, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the visual character of Texas, announced the formation of its newest chapter, Scenic Hill Country, bringing the total number of state chapters to eight. The Scenic Hill Country Chapter will...
LCRA: Lots of water for sale
In the latest sign of the drought’s ebbing, two top officials with the Lower Colorado River Authority met with Hays County commissioners to deliver a simple message: They have spare water for sale — lots of it. The river authority, which oversees the doling out of...
Are we “overestimating” our resources?
It’s often said that many of our aquifers and rivers are already over-allocated in Texas. In 1922, seven Western states — Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming and California — drew up an agreement on how to divide the waters of the Colorado River. But...
Hays Commissioners pull plug on water deal
"The deal was up for renewal, but Hays Commissioner Will Conley said Tuesday that the county should not be involved with pulling water from Lee and Bastrop counties, where the plan was deeply unpopular. He said the Forestar plan echoed the highly controversial...
HCA Welcomes New Board Member Matt Lara
Born and raised in Amarillo, Matt Lara grew up in the back seat of bright-orange Volkswagen pop-top making trips to the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico and Colorado. While watching the landscape change from the flat plains of the Texas Panhandle, to the breathtaking...
Texas Water Symposium discusses water demands, conservation
By Richard Zowie, Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post: Texas is growing, and a concern in the water industry is whether the Lone Star State can keep up with residents’ water needs. A three-person panel discussed this and fielded questions at the 8th Annual Texas Water...
TPR re-broadcast of last week’s Texas Water Symposium, June 28 at 8pm on KTXI 90.1
Whether you are concerned about the on-going drought, rainwater harvesting or even cedar management, the Texas Water Symposium recently held at Texas Tech University in Fredericksburg will inform and entertain you. Join Texas Public Radio for a broadcast of the forum...
Water Legislation recap from Environment Texas
"On June 1st, the 84th Session of the Texas Legislature came to a close. The session was not great for the environment overall, but water legislation fared a bit better. Yet for every good bill that passed there seemed to be a bad bill passed, or a good bill that...
Better Lights for Starry Nights
Are you ready to see more stars in your community? HCA's newest board member, Matt Lara has created a wonderful, easy to give presentation about protecting the night sky with effective lighting. Contact HCA to schedule a program in your community. View the...
Save Oak Hill Petition
"Did you know the TxDOT plans for the “Oak Hill Parkway” is not a parkway, but an elevated toll road that slices through the heart of Oak Hill, wipes out multiple groves of heritage trees, and squeezes Williamson Creek in between elevated roadways for more than a...
Taking Care of Your Creeks and Streams
Essential lesson’s from Steve Nelle recently published in Ranch and Rural Living Magazine: “Stewardship of creeks and rivers involves the notion that creeks are to some extent a shared resource. Even though the landowner may legally own the creek, he or she realizes...
Minnesota Governor signs bill to mandate buffers to improve water quality and habitat
The governor said the buffer bill will be one of his most important legacies. “I think we’ll see in the next couple of years a very significant expansion in the number and quality of buffers to make our water cleaner and increase wildlife habitat,” he said. “Given...
Rainwater harvesting getting new flood of interest after recent rains
With the recent abundance of rain, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist who presents rainwater harvesting programs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and elsewhere in the state, has been “flooded” with calls from people interested in water...
May marks wettest month for Texas in recorded history
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that May was the wettest month on record for the Continental US- and the wettest for both Oklahoma and Texas in recorded history, with rainfall totals almost twice the average levels. Recent rains have...
Texas planners look to aquifers to prepare for next drought
The torrential storms of last month essentially ended one of Texas’ worst droughts, but much of the excess water has already flowed into the Gulf of Mexico or will evaporate by year’s end. With a wary eye toward the next prolonged dry-streak that inevitably will come,...
Flood Aid TX, June 28th
The United Way of Hays County is partnering with ADRN, Crosswind Promotions, the City of Austin and others to hold a benefit concert for flood relief. The concert line-up includes Ray Benson, Jack Ingram, The Spazmatics and many more. The concert will be held from...
City Says No Thanks to Niagara Water Bottling Deal
Ten days ago, a rezoning application by California-based Niagara Bottling to build a water bottling plant at Brooks City Base was fast-tracked for City Council approval by the Zoning Commission, but the deal is now dead. The company’s rezoning application has been...
Chairman of Water Development Board Stepping Down
Carlos Rubinstein, chairman of the Texas Water Development Board, has announced he is stepping down after serving in the position for nearly two years. Rubinstein led the board into a new era after it was handed greater authority over water supply projects by the...
The Texas Drought is over, but what about the next?
The drought that just ended (in all but a small corner of the Texas Panhandle, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor) made Texans aware of the importance of a reliable water supply, for themselves and for the state’s economy. The Texas Legislature in 2013...
Our Water Future Is Not For Sale
San Antonio’s business-as-usual is putting our water future at risk. Last week Brooks City Base sought rush-rush rezoning approval to allow Niagara Bottling to put San Antonio’s water in plastic bottles to sell nationwide. This, while San Antonio Water System (SAWS)...