Texas needs water workers. Will high school students answer the call?
Nearly two-thirds of the state’s water and wastewater agencies say they need more workers. Full Story
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![Consolidated Water Supply Corporation employees patch a broken pipe on April 19, 2023 in Crockett.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Llano River communities fight former oil executive’s plan for a private dam
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. Full Story
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![Linda Fawcett stands in front of her painting “Water Witch,” in her dining room Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Junction. Named after the moniker used to describe a person who used dowsing rods to search for water underground, the painting depicts Fawcett’s biggest fear of the Llano River going dry.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ environmental agency enables companies to increase oilfield wastewater disposal in rivers
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. Full Story
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![Fracking's water demand requires the construction of ponds like these, which store millions of gallons of fresh water. Aug. 21, 2013.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Heat, drought and population growth have stressed aquifers that supply water to millions of Texans
Diminishing springs and aquifers due to heat, drought and high for demand water highlight the urgency for Central Texas conservation districts to prioritize climate-focused management, potentially involving reduced pumping for sustainability. Full Story
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![David Baker, founder and director of the Wimberley Watershed Association, said he's never seen the water level so low in Jacob's Well. Photographed on Thursday, August 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News -
Texas towns are starving for capital and lack the resources to apply for grants. This group hopes to help.
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. Full Story
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![An aerial view of Groveton March 20, 2023, in Groveton, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Without access to water lines, Texas colonias residents are pulling water from the desert air
Thousands of low-income, Latino residents in Texas still do not have safe drinking water. In one El Paso colonia, some residents are using solar distillation to generate water from the air. Full Story
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![Olga Thomas and other residents of Hueco Tanks rely on a private company to haul water to their neighborhood. Now she can count on her hydro panels for drinking water. May 23, 2023.]()
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Texas lawmakers allocated more than $2 billion to increase the state’s water supply and reduce flooding
Texans across the state are affected by declining water supplies, water infrastructure disruptions and flooding in their communities. Full Story
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![Lake Alan Henry in Garza County on April. 27, 2023, in Garza County, about 65 miles southeast of Lubbock.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
After historic drought, lawmakers agree on billion-dollar plan to expand water supplies, fix infrastructure
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. Full Story
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![One of the city's water towers stands in Wolfforth, on April 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Rural Texas landowners who lost water access due to San Antonio pipeline could soon get relief
Groundwater levels rapidly declined in rural Lee County after San Antonio began pumping the water and moving it 100 miles southwest. A Senate bill would help affected well owners. Full Story
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![The Vista Ridge site in Burleson County on July 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
House advances bill that could provide billions of dollars for new water projects and fixing aging infrastructure
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. Full Story
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![Water pours into a holding pond inside Rio Grande City’s new $12 million water treatment plant. Along the Texas-Mexico border, nearly 90,000 people are believed to still live without running water. An untold number more — likely tens of thousands, but no one is sure — often have running water of such poor quality that they cannot know what poisons or diseases it might carry.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Everything you need to know about Texas’ beleaguered water systems
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. Full Story
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![Water spews out of a fire hydrant as a San Antonio Water System crew works to fix a water main break near Hunt Ln. and Adams Hill in San Antonio, TX on August 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ water infrastructure is broken, jeopardizing quality and supply for a growing state
On a daily basis, water managers in cities across the state move from crisis to crisis hoping to keep the water flowing to residents. Full Story
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![Tom Bailey flushes out a water line in Zavalla on April 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune -
Water experts urgently call for funding to address threats to Texas infrastructure
Experts talked about how and where the state can best invest money to keep Texas water safely flowing to the public. Full Story
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Texas has the fifth-highest percentage of water pipes made of lead
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. Full Story
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![A dripping faucet on Feb. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate moves to set aside billions for future water needs
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. Full Story
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![A large crack runs the length of a broken water main pipe after City of Odessa Water Distribution employees work to repair the broken line Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa. According to Mayor of Odessa Javier Joven, the line has been fixed since around 3:45 a.m. and the system is beginning to pressurize slowly.]()
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Texas Senate takes first step toward establishing billions for state’s water supply, infrastructure
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. Full Story
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![City of Zavalla Water Well #1 in Zavalla, Texas on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
How a fading West Texas town has gone four years without safe drinking water
Some Toyah residents say state regulators at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality were “negligent” and want to know what took so long. The Texas attorney general has filed a lawsuit. Full Story
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![The Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Texas Law School conducted water testing at houses in Toyah in Feburary 2023.]()
Credit: Mitch Borden/Marfa Public Radio -
Black and Hispanic Texans say they don’t trust the quality of their water
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. Full Story
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![A portable water tank at a colonia at Las Pampas, on Oct. 21, 2014.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
A new bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers wants to highlight the state’s fragile water infrastructure
So far there has been an average of six boil-water notices a day across Texas in 2023. Full Story
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![Volunteers unload water during a water distribution and free flu vaccination event at the Holman Street Baptist Church in Houston on Nov. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Midland is the latest Texas city to issue a boil-water notice
Officials said the water levels at the local reservoir were too low to meet safety standards. Full Story
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![A water tower at the Midland International Air & Space Port on Jan. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune