The mission of the Hill Country Alliance is to bring together a diverse coalition of partners to preserve the open spaces, starry night skies, clean and abundant waters, and unique character of the Texas Hill Country.
Our Work
Land
The Texas Hill Country region covers over 11 million acres in 17 counties of mostly privately held land.
Water
Thirteen Texas rivers begin in the Hill Country and provide water for millions of downstream neighbors.
Night Sky
The Hill Country sits on the edge of night and as development pushes westward, we are losing our view of the night sky.
Community
90% of Hill Country lands are in unincorporated areas where there is little authority to plan for growth.
Collaboration
HCA serves as the backbone organization and fiscal sponsor of the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network.
Latest News
Great Springs Project envisions a network of trails from Austin to San Antonio
Twenty-seven years ago, Deborah Morin watched as the hills, streams, caves, and springs of the Hill Country outside of Austin were being gobbled up by construction... Almost three decades later, Morin, a San Antonio native, is at the head of a nonprofit working to do...
Texas moves ahead on discharging oil wastewater, even as EPA balks
Environmental officials in Texas and other western states are moving ahead on plans to allow oil and gas companies to treat drilling wastewater and discharge it into rivers and streams, even as the Trump administration balks at endorsing the practice amid widespread...
Q&A + Water: Robert Mace
In this issue’s Q&A, Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, interviews Dr. Robert Mace, Executive Director and Chief Water Policy Officer for The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University. In addition to his position at the...
Shhh… This just might be the prettiest body of water in Texas
I’m a spring-fed freshwater swimming nut. Rivers and creeks are my thing, as long as they’re unspoiled, untamed, and unchlorinated—the clearer, the better. The sweetest water I’ve ever seen was on a ranch near the headwaters of the West Fork of the Nueces, out in the...
Texas Living Waters Project unveils 2020 Texas Water Conservation Scorecard
Texas water conservation practices have not improved in the last four years. June 23rd, 2020 - Austin, TX - The Texas Living Waters Project released the 2020 Texas Water Conservation Scorecard, an in-depth analysis and ranking of the water conservation efforts of more...
Black women come together to form Black Hikers Week
After witnessing the power and pride experienced as a result of Black Birders Week, Social Media Influencers and members of the black hiking community Zenovia Stephens (Huntsville, AL), Debbie Njai (St. Louis, MO), and Nailah Blades Wylie (Sandy, UT) joined together...
Revealed: millions of Americans can’t afford water as bills rise 80% in a decade
In the first nationwide research of its kind, our findings reveal the painful impact of America’s expanding water poverty crisis as aging infrastructure, environmental clean-ups, changing demographics and the climate emergency fuel exponential price hikes in almost...
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One Water in the Texas Hill Country:
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