INSIDER
The Texas House took its first step toward revising a priority Senate bill last week. The changes were lauded by the state’s water community.
Desalination can create millions of gallons of fresh water a day. But it is expensive and there are many environmental concerns.
Senate Bill 7, which won unanimous approval, is among legislation that seeks to avert a looming water crisis as the state’s population booms.
Most lawmakers — as well as Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — want to invest big in water. Here are the proposals that would do it.
The topic was a budget request from a state agency. The exchange grew emotional when a lawmaker pressed for answers about a strategic plan that praises diversity.
It’s unclear how much water resides underneath this booming West Texas tourist haven. That makes conservation critical.
A yearslong dispute over exporting water to growing Texas cities offers a hint at the battles to come as the state’s population booms and water supply dwindles.
Residents at the sprawling Terlingua Ranch near Big Bend National Park will limit residents to 1,000 gallons of nondrinking water per month.
The town’s troubles started in 2018, when its water tested positive for the dangerous E.coli bacteria.
About $45 million will go to Texas towns with fewer than 1,000 residents — a boon for municipalities without a viable tax base.
Many of the solutions are costly, putting them out of reach for small towns. But the region's most populous cities are getting innovative.
Water law experts say the Supreme Court's recent decision will set a precedent for the federal government to intervene in water conflicts between states moving forward.
No one knows how much water sits beneath the desert of Terlingua. Residents worry their wells will run dry, as developers and local officials cheer the tourism boom.
A draft of the first-ever statewide flood plan for Texas estimates that more than 5 million residents live or work in an area susceptible to flooding.
The state’s flood plan shows which Texans are most at risk of flooding and suggests billions of dollars more are needed for flood mitigation projects.
The legislation behind the historic investment directs state agencies to send money to the state’s smaller, cash-strapped towns that have difficulty paying for upgrades. Federal money is also expected to flow to regions that need broadband.
The water in these four unincorporated communities near Lubbock has been undrinkable for years, residents say. They hope to win $3 million in state grants to improve their systems.
As it prepares a statewide flood prevention plan, the state found that almost 6 million Texans live in an area susceptible to floodwaters.
The Senate on Monday passed a bill that would create a new state fund tailored for large or long-shot water supply projects, including marine desalination. The bill will advance to the House.
Voters would have the final say on whether the state sets aside billions of dollars to acquire new water sources and invest in aging infrastructure.
Rural communities face compounding reasons they can’t improve their water infrastructure, including inflation and a lack of human resources.
Texas’ biggest single solution to providing enough water for its soaring population in the coming decades is using more surface water, including about two dozen new large reservoirs. But climate change has made damming rivers a riskier bet.
Rain is in the forecast across much of the state. But it won’t be enough to reverse the drought that has gripped Texas since last fall.
Hundreds of wildfires have broken out this spring. More than a dozen areas are under voluntary or mandatory water use restrictions, and more than 200 Texas counties have been designated as crop disaster areas.
Rural Texas communities often don’t have the resources, technical experience, or ability to take on large amounts of debt to pursue state funds for water supply and quality projects. So, many simply don’t apply.
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Allie Goulding/The Texas TribuneSign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. This problem will be particularly pronounced for Dallas, which relies entirely on surface water for its water supply, the study says. Allie Goulding/The Texas TribuneCattle on a ranch on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 in Gonzales. Allie Goulding/The Texas TribuneCattle on a ranch in Gonzales. Legislators can basically impress upon various river authorities and municipal water suppliers that certain types of water projects like surface water reservoirs are not going to be the answer to our future of water during megadroughts because those surface water reservoirs lose a lot of water to evaporation, he said.
