Is a massive tunnel system the answer to Houston’s flood woes?
Other Texas cities have built underground channels to divert stormwater. Experts say it might not be the right way to go for Houston, but that it's still worth exploring. Full Story
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![In 1997, workers construct the San Antonio River Tunnel, which diverts floodwaters beneath the city.]()
Credit: San Antonio River Authority -
Trump administration announces more than $5 billion for Texas flood control projects
Almost a year after Hurricane Harvey dumped historic rains on Texas, the state will receive more than $5 billion for a range of flood control projects, repairs and studies, the Trump administration announced Thursday. Full Story
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![The Theater District in downtown Houston on Sunday, Aug 27, 2017, is flooded by water from Buffalo Bayou.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Flash flooding in Houston sparks memories of Harvey
Residents watched cautiously as parts of the city received up to 8 inches of rain. Full Story
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![Streets flood in central Houston during heavy rain on July 4, 2018.]()
Credit: Stephanie Kuzydym for The Texas Tribune -
Hays County residents fear the fight to protect their water was all for nothing
Hays County well owners thought they won the water fight against Houston-based Electro Purification three years ago. Now, regulators are left trying to balance residential priorities with business interests. Full Story
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![Hays County residents Ann Arendarczyk, left, and Leigh Peterson look at water resource maps during a public meeting on June 18 at the Wimberley Community Center, where concerned residents learned about Electro Purification's proposed permit to pump up to 2.5 million gallons of water daily from the Trinity Aquifer.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Texas-New Mexico water fight could be impacted by SCOTUS ruling
The high court's decision lowers the burden of proof for states locked in similar water battles with upstream neighbors. Full Story
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![The Rio Grande has been the lifeblood of the valleys and civilizations it flowed through for more than 3,000 years. As cities and farms suck it dry and a warming climate makes it evaporate faster, the river's future has never been more uncertain.]()
Credit: Erich Schlegel -
Texas Supreme Court strikes down Laredo's plastic bag ban, likely ending others
The state's highest civil court has ruled that Laredo's ban on plastic bags violates state law. Full Story
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![Single-use bag ban advocates hold a press conference before the Texas Supreme Court prior to oral arguments on the legality of Laredo’s ban on Jan. 11, 2018.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
In years-long fight over proposed South Texas landfill, flood risks now take center stage
Webb County officials say they want to rely on the latest science to ensure the site is safe from floods. The company behind the proposed landfill thinks opponents are playing politics to delay construction. Full Story
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![An aerial view of the site of a proposed landfill by Laredo developer Carlos "C. Y." Benavides. The site is about 20 miles east of Laredo.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Faced with failure, state to propose new plan to protect West Texas lizard
The state comptroller's office went back to the drawing board after the failure of a 6-year-old plan to protect the dunes sagebrush lizard that relied on voluntary participation by the oil and gas industry. Full Story
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Credit: Steve Jurvetson -
Harris County sets election over $2.5 billion bond to fund flood protection projects after Harvey
Voters will weigh in on the bond proposal on Aug. 25, the one-year anniversary of when Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas. Full Story
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![A flooded neighborhood near the Buffalo Bayou and the Barker Reservoir dam on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Hurricane season starts June 1. Here are some ways Texans can prepare.
People along the Texas coast should consider buying insurance, packing an emergency supply kit and learning their evacuation routes now. Full Story
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![Jeremy Boutor removes personal items on an air mattress from his home in a neighborhood along Eldridge Parkway, flooded by waters released from Addicks Reservoir on Aug. 30, 2017, adding to from Hurricane Harvey.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
After Arkema chemical fires, industry needs more guidance on flood protections, federal investigators say
Workers at the Arkema chemical plant outside Houston "appeared to be unaware" that the site was at risk of flooding. Both the company and the industry's regulators need to do more to plan for flooding, federal investigators said in a new report. Full Story
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![The Arkema chemical plant in Crosby on March 20, 2018, where a pressure release after a power failure during Hurricane Harvey caused an evacuation and many people reported health issues after breathing the air around the plant.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
After anti-wall website launches on the border, Texas Farm Bureau fires off cease-and-desist letter
A new website created to stir up opposition to President Trump's border wall has already caused one organization to threaten legal action. The website's creators said that means their message is getting heard. Full Story
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![The border fence sits atop a levee on the periphery of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Hidalgo County in February 2017.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Livestream: A symposium on rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey
Join us for a daylong symposium in Corpus Christi on rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Harvey. Full Story
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As cities sprawl, more Texans are exposed to tornadoes
Texas' population has grown faster than any other large state's this decade, and when it comes to tornadoes, that growth poses an increased threat to residents. The Dallas-Fort Worth tornado outbreak on April 3, 2012, was just one example of how much damage can be done to expanding metropolitan areas. Full Story
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![Duncan Winters, 10, walks through the remains of his grandmother's home during the cleanup effort in Forney on April 4, 2012. Thousands of residents were without power and hundreds of flights canceled as authorities surveyed the damage a day after up to a dozen tornadoes struck the densely populated Dallas-Fort Worth area.]()
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Environmental groups ask feds to protect threatened West Texas lizard
Two environmental groups asked the federal government on Tuesday to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as threatened or endangered. Full Story
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Credit: Steve Jurvetson -
Federal agents peered into a duffel bag on the Mexico border. They found a tiger cub.
The tiger was turned over Brownsville’s Gladys Porter Zoo. It was likely tranquilized to keep him still and quiet during the journey, according to senior veterinarian Tom deMaar. Full Story
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![Tiger cub abandoned by smuggler.]()
Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
New health survey aims to quantify Hurricane Harvey's physical, mental toll
Rice University, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Houston Health Department announced an information-gathering initiative on Wednesday that seeks to better understand the impact of the historic storm on Houston-area residents, including by linking health problems to environmental exposures. Full Story
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![Marcus Cossie clears his flood-ruined home in northeast Houston on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
After years of living alongside troops, border residents see little impact from Trump's deployment
While President Trump's order sending National Guard to address a "crisis" to the border has garnered national attention, those living in the Rio Grande Valley see a gap between perception and reality. Full Story
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![Ron and Janella Frankl Reicks in their home in Hidalgo Texas, discuss the newest National Guard deployment to the Rio Grande.]()
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Texas regulator says "misunderstanding" is making millennials shun oilfield jobs
Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian told House lawmakers on Wednesday that the biggest threat to a burgeoning oil boom is "the acceptance of the politically-correct-driven environmental anti-oil and gas science." Full Story
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Houston-area toxic waste site removed from priority cleanup list
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that the San Jacinto Waste Pits are no longer on its "Emphasis List" of Superfund sites following a $115 million agreement to remove toxic sludge from the site. Full Story
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![The San Jacinto River Waste Pits, an EPA Superfund site that is contaminated with dioxins, is located off Interstate 10 east of Houston.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato
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