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
PEACE: The time to conserve land is now
The Edwards Aquifer, source of Comal Springs, is recognized as one of the most prolific karst aquifer systems in the world. Storm water enters and travels through the system with amazing speed, allowing for rapid recharge of this elegant water source. However, this...
2022 was Austin’s driest year since drought-stricken, heat-scorched 2011
While we were rightfully worried about the hard freeze that descended upon Texas just before Christmas, you might have missed the news that drought conditions across the state have eased to levels not seen in more than a year. Unfortunately, the improvement comes too...
Weather, climate, and measuring chili pepper heat
I know someone in public relations; she avoids topics such as religion, politics, and the weather. Religion and politics can be very personal and areas of possible dissent. Talking about the weather, she tells me, might seem safe, but might in its safety bore the very...
How to prevent the next water crisis
Cities and farmers in Central Texas used to pump groundwater from the Edwards Aquifer much more freely—draining local springs and rivers and depriving several endangered species of a habitat. In the 1990s, the Sierra Club sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on...
Smart meter monitoring can help conserve water — but not without a fight, researchers find
The use of smart meters to enforce water restrictions could encourage widespread conservation — but not without local backlash, a new study has found. Amid California’s ongoing drought, researchers partnered with the city of Fresno in summer 2018 to access and...
outlook+water: Drought continues to improve, La Niña’s days are numbered, reservoirs levels rising
Summary: 75% of the state is abnormally dry or worse, and 52% of the state is in drought Equal chances for La Niña or neutral conditions for the January-March season and a 71% chance of neutral conditions for the February-April season Reservoir storage is still 10%...
Failing infrastructure, drought and floods: Texas’ top 10 water stories of 2022
For Texas’ water sector, 2022 was a rough year. Stories about failing infrastructure, drought and even floods captured state headlines. Many of these stories were grim and endured by millions across the state. Texans had to live without or boil their water, flee...
Act Now
Shop the HCA Store
HCA Resources
Reports:
One Water in the Texas Hill Country:
Connecting Communities with Projects and Professionals
