News
CASE CLOSED: Disappointment for Hill Country Aquifer Protection
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) recently halted a process that could have created groundwater conservation districts (GCDs) in some of the fasted growing areas of the Hill Country. TCEQ Executive Director Richard Hyde successfully petitioned the...
Hays County makes pitch for agency to secure, divvy up water
When it comes to water, Hays County’s cup overfloweth. That’s why county commissioners Monday pitched the idea of a regional corporation of governments that would reserve and divvy up water — a job that now mainly falls to individual cities or utility districts — to...
PEC Candidate Forum April 24th in Johnson City
The Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) is hosting a candidates forum for two board of director seats up for election this year. The meeting will be held 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24 at PEC Headquarters, 201 S. Ave. F in Johnson City. The event will also include...
TWDB opens SWIFT for public comment
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has opened their State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) rules making process for public comment. Participation in the rules making process is critical to ensure that the intentions of the State Legislature are...
Join HCA at Upcoming Bennett Trust Education Program: Protecting the Legacy of the Edwards Plateau
The Bennett Trust will host its first ever land stewardship and education conference April 23-25 in Kerrville. Wyman Meinzer, state photographer of Texas, will deliver the keynote address on the history and legacy of the Edwards Plateau. Attendees will also have the...
Common Misperceptions Regarding Land and Wildlife Management in Central Texas
The statements below in Bold are common misperceptions followed by a brief explanation of clarification. Mesquite is not native to Texas; it invaded from Mexico. Mesquite is a native tree and has been here for thousands of years. The density of mesquite has increased...
City Wastewater Discharge May Threaten Clear-running Creeks and Water Wells
by Vicki Wolf (April 17, 2014) Some water experts believe Hill Country clear-running creeks and streams may soon be a thing of the past if cities are permitted to discharge treated wastewater directly into creeks such as Onion Creek. Water wells may also become...
To Deal With Drought, Texas Needs to Manage Growth
“With the exception of the lower Rio Grande Valley and small parts of Far West Texas, much of the state has received less than 50 percent of normal rainfall,” reads TWDB’s most recent report. “This doesn’t bode well for the next six months. A dry winter generally...
Keeping Rivers Flowing: Innovative Strategies to Protect and Restore Rivers
Join us for a Webinar on April 30 Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/832319351 "Keeping Rivers Flowing: Innovative Strategies to Protect and Restore Rivers" is a free three-part webinar series designed to inform...
Sky Lewey, HCA Board Member receives Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Award
Sky has been selected to receive a “Lone Star Land Steward Award” for her work in education and outreach for the Nueces River Authority in Uvalde County. “Sky Lewey is a conservation educator with extraordinary leadership and dedication. A key figure in the efforts to...
Amazing rally for Bracken Bat Cave
Bat Conservation International has inspired major support to prevent intense development of 1500 acres adjacent to Bracken Cave from the City of San Antonio, Mayor Julian Castro, City Councilman Ron Nirenberg, The Kronkosky Charitable Foundation and others. Find out...
The Great Grassland Myth of the Texas Hill Country
How many times have you heard that the Hill Country was once a great vast grassland with only a modest covering of trees and brush? Although this longstanding myth is deeply ingrained and embraced by many government agencies, biologists, landowners and professionals,...
Georgetown moves to limit residential lawns and landscaping to save water
“The rules require residential developers to use only drought-resistant plants from a list provided by the city. St. Augustine grass, which tends to be very thirsty, can only be planted in areas where there is 10 inches of topsoil and less than 6 hours of full...
Texas Water Development Board launches interactive 2012 State Water Plan website
April 3, 2014 As part of the Texas Water Development Board’s ongoing efforts to promote awareness about water needs, the agency has launched an interactive website based on the 2012 State Water Plan. The website makes it easy for Texans to get details about water...
You Can’t Say They Don’t Care What You Think – Public Input on HB 4
Approval of “Prop 6” indirectly transferred $2 billion from the state’s “rainy day” fund into this new State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) to provide water for “non-rainy” days. But just moving money around doesn’t create water. That’s why what’s...
Financing the Cost of New Development
March 27, 2014 Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance At the San Antonio Water System Board meeting of March 4th, the SAWS Board was briefed on the 2014 to 2023 Land Use Assumptions Plan. This plan includes recommendations for impact fees to fund additional water supplies....
Groundwater Levels on the Decline
Stay informed about your local Groundwater Conservation District (GCD). The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) creates a monthly bulletin full of helpful water conservation information and news. Read the latest edition here. Do you know your...
EPA proposes greater protections for streams, wetlands under Clean Water Act
“Intermittent and ephemeral streams provide critical fish habitat out West. They account for 94 percent of Arizona’s streams, according to the EPA, and 88 percent of those in New Mexico.” The same holds true here in the Hill Country as these tributaries feed the...
HCA’s Certified Interpretive Guide Training Workshop Returns
Do you want to create meaningful experiences that last a lifetime? HCA is offering an Interpretive Guide Training workshop that will help you connect the minds and hearts of your audience to the beauty of nature and the mysteries of history. The four-day workshop will...
A more “Night Skies” friendly community
James Murr The Junction Eagle March 26, 2014 It started when the Kimble County Commissioners Court, followed by the City Council, passed resolutions supporting voluntary efforts to protect the Night Skies. This paralleled actions being taken in other Hill Country...
TWDB’s Water Data for Texas website now includes groundwater data
Today Texans are more aware than ever of the importance of groundwater. As part of ongoing efforts to synthesize and communicate water-related data to scientists, policy makers and the public, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB)recently announced its Water Data...
New Billboard Fact Sheet
Scenic America has just released a handy 4-page reference guide to basic facts and figures about billboards. Download the PDF here. Learn more about scenic issues and billboard in the Hill Country here.
CAMPO Planning – Now is the time to get involved
The Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is currently seeking public input for projects including new roads in the long-ranch plan. Learn more about transportation planning taking place in Burnett, Travis and Hays counties and attend an open house near you.
Build Water Smart Now
Tom Hegemier Chair, Central Texas Land / Water Sustainability Forum March 17, 2014 We felt reassured by the fall rains, but most storms missed lakes Travis and Buchanan. Now the empty clouds of drought hover and the water supply clock ticks on. Drought again is a...
West’s Drought and Growth Intensify Conflicts over Water Rights
Across the parched American West, the long drought has set off a series of fierce legal and political battles over who controls an increasingly dear treasure - water. Read more from the New York Times.
Stormwater Management Can Be “Green” Too
Meet Dr. Katherine Lieberknecht. She is a professor in the University of Texas School of Architecture who proposes the revolutionary idea that stormwater runoff can – and should – be managed as a water resource, rather than as nuisance to be drained “away” as...
The Bats are on their way back to the Hill Country
While South by Southwest (SXSW) comes to a close in Austin, Texas' bat season is just beginning. That's right, the Mexican free-tailed bats have begun their northward migration. To celebrate, here's a little "Q&A" to help answer any questions you may have about...
SAWS Backpedals on Right Choice – Still Considering Groundwater Importation Project
Last month, the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club praised staff at the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) for recommending to their Board that the focus of future water supplies for the city should rest on nearby brackish groundwater, rather than the importation of...
HCA’s Rainwater Revival calls for grant applications to fund water conservation and catchment programs at Hill Country schools
March 11, 2014 The Hill Country Alliance has set an April 30 deadline for local schools to apply for grants of up to $1,000 to develop or continue water catchment and conservation programs. The auction of “art barrels” during the Alliance’s annual Rainwater Revival,...
SAWS: Yes to Desal Plant, Maybe to Pipeline
The San Antonio Water System board voted unanimously Tuesday to fund Phase I construction of a brackish water desalination plant in southern Bexar County – the most ambitious water diversification project in the city’s history – and enter negotiations with the Vista...