WATER SUPPLY

Voters approved a massive property tax cut and several other measures, but refused to raise the mandatory retirement age for judges.

At stake in next week’s constitutional amendment election is $13 billion in infrastructure spending. Supporters say it’s an opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime investment.

Egan sat down with Tribune environmental reporter Alejandra Martinez to talk about his new book, “The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance,” which explains how overuse of phosphorus is impacting the environment.

Nearly two-thirds of the state’s water and wastewater agencies say they need more workers.

Texas has thousands of private dams, but a former oil executive’s application to build one on the South Llano River would be the first in the watershed for recreational use. Opponents fear it would harm the river’s health and encourage more private dams.

Researchers are still studying the chemical makeup of “produced water” from Permian Basin oil fields. But regulators say they’re ready to issue permits to discharge the water into rivers and creeks.

Texas Rural Funders hopes a one-stop resource for grant applications and writers could help small towns win money to fund innovation and capital needs.

Texans across the state are affected by declining water supplies, water infrastructure disruptions and flooding in their communities.

Following one of the hottest summers on record, lawmakers have set an ambitious target: By 2033, they want to bump up the state’s water supply by an amount equal to three of the largest reservoirs in the state.

Groundwater levels rapidly declined in rural Lee County after San Antonio began pumping the water and moving it 100 miles southwest. A Senate bill initially approved by the House on Tuesday would help affected well owners.

The bill aims to create a water supply four times the size of Lake Livingston, one of the state’s largest reservoirs. But it may still be a “drop in the bucket” compared to the state’s needs.

Texas has more than 7,000 water systems. A fraction of them self-reported that they lost 30 billion gallons of water due to broken pipes and leaks in 2021.

On a daily basis, water managers in cities across the state move from crisis to crisis hoping to keep the water flowing to residents.

In a first-of-its-kind survey of public water utilities, the EPA estimates that 7% of water lines in Texas, more than 647,000, are lead based. It’s the fifth-highest proportion of lead-based water lines in the country.

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.

A survey was commissioned by the nonprofit organization Texas Water Trade and included responses from households in both rural border communities and in urban areas across Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.

So far there has been an average of six boil-water notices a day across Texas in 2023.

Officials said the water levels at the local reservoir were too low to meet safety standards.

There has already been confusion on whether “to drip or not to drip” during this week’s “big chill,” but that may no longer be an issue because several local officials are asking people in the surrounding Houston areas to stop dripping their faucets as it can cause more harm than good at this time.

Rural communities face compounding reasons they can’t improve their water infrastructure, including inflation and a lack of human resources.

For more than 24 hours, nearly everyone in the nation’s fourth-most-populous city had been asked to boil water after a power outage at a water treatment plant Sunday.

Many residents in the nation’s fourth-most-populous city heard that they couldn’t drink tap water from friends or neighbors, not from City Hall.

Millions of Houston residents are expected to be under a boil water notice until Tuesday after a power outage at a water treatment plant. At least four school districts canceled Monday classes.

Zavalla lost all water for several days. The Texas Department of Emergency Management has sent pallets of bottled water and a team to help.

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.

As Texas continues to battle drought, groups are trying a market-based solution to help farmers and protect what little water is left.

Citing water quality concerns, the Environmental Protection Agency may refuse to recognize a permit that Texas approved Thursday for a marine desalination plant at the Port of Corpus Christi.

The declaration covers 23 counties across the state and comes after some saw more than 10 inches of rainfall Monday.

Construction began in July to bring water to Cochran, one of several colonias along the border not served by public water systems. The project is expected to be completed by October.

“We’re on the brink. We’re teetering. It’s a balancing act. It’s a 50/50 proposition,” said Gunter City Manager Rick Chaffin.

Texas had 3,866 water boil notices in 2021, the most in the last decade. Aging water systems threaten water supply and quality — and for many small towns across the state, they won’t be cheap to repair.

The outage left about 165,000 people without water in Odessa and some surrounding areas. It has been attributed to a main line break in the city’s aging water system and comes amid a dayslong heat wave.

Officials haven’t specified what caused the break, but say the broken line is about 60 years old.

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.

A report from the state climatologist finds that the state is experiencing hotter days with less relief from high temperatures at night.

Residents said they are thankful for the free cases of water bottles being given out at the Lake Jackson Rec Center but they are still frustrated after another week of a boil water notice. READ: Lake Jackson residents asked to conserve water usage as ‘Boil water’ notice remains“It’s just everything. City Manager Modesto Mundo said they are currently in the middle of a very intensive process of water monitoring, testing and flushing throughout Lake Jackson. This all comes after a 6-year-old boy died last month from a brain-eating amoeba after coming into contact with city water. And the latest blow just Sunday -- a soldier who helped give out bottled water tested positive for the coronavirus.

HOUSTON – The city of Lake Jackson said the ‘Boil water’ notice could remain in place for another two weeks following the discovery of a potentially deadly amoeba in the water system. “We’re trying to get out of our boil water notice,” said city manager Modesto Mundo. To complete the latest process, Mundo is asking water customers to conserve. “We need the cooperation of everybody in our community and our businesses to lower the water usage as much as possible for outside water usage,” he said. The boil water notice impacts thousands of customers, including Sandra Crumrine.

HOUSTON – Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for Brazoria County in response to Naeglera Fowleri, a deadly amoeba found in water samples taken from the City of Lake Jackson. A ‘Boil water’ notice is in place for Lake Jackson as authorities continue to flush and disinfect the water system back to normal. “The state of Texas is taking swift action to respond to the situation and support the communities whose water systems have been impacted by this ameba,” said Gov. “I urge Texans in Lake Jackson to follow the guidance of local officials and take the appropriate precautions to protect their health and safety as we work to restore safe tap water in the community.”View the Disaster Declaration.