A boil-water notice in Houston made national news. In rural Texas, it’s a way of life.
Rural communities face compounding reasons they can’t improve their water infrastructure, including inflation and a lack of human resources. Full Story
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![David Wilshusen, 69, stands outside his home in Houston County, Texas on on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. (Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Houston officials say state made the call on water boil notice
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. Full Story
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![Isaiah Chirip helps push a pallet of bottled 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 -
Houstonians say the city fumbled sounding the alarm on boil water notice
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. Full Story
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![Eboni Davis and her boyfriend Jesse Holloway load water into their car outside an H-E-B grocery store in Houston on Nov. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Houston boil water notice forces schools to shut down
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. Full Story
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![A notice that customers are limited to two cases of water at a Houston HEB on Nov. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
An East Texas town must boil its water on Thanksgiving as officials seek a solution to aging infrastructure
Zavalla lost all water for several days. The Texas Department of Emergency Management has sent pallets of bottled water and a team to help. Full Story
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![An Ector Count resident, who declined to give their name, loads their car with cases of bottled water after the majority of Ector County was placed on a boil water notice early Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa, Texas. The resident and their partner, who also declined to give their name, stated that they had been without water since approximately 7 p.m. Monday evening. “I know I payed my water bill” one said when they were attempting to determine why they did not have any running water.]()
Credit: Courtesy Odessa American/Eli Hartman -
Texas’ plan to provide water for a growing population virtually ignores climate change
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. Full Story
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![Concerned residents Lindy Guest, 68, left, John Brooks, 74, center, and Jim Vignali, 70, far-right, look at a map of Red River County where the Marvin Nichols Reservoir will be located, at Cuthand United Methodist Church in Bogata, Texas, on July 26, 2022. The reservoir has been in the works for decades, but never gained momentum to start. Residents now fear a starting date is near as Texas droughts worsen, and water supply needs in the DFW metro area rapidly increase. Thousands of acres will be flooded and an estimated 60 homes will be lost.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
To save water in Texas, these nonprofits are paying farmers to leave it in reservoirs
As Texas continues to battle drought, groups are trying a market-based solution to help farmers and protect what little water is left. Full Story
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![Water marks are seen on the dam gates and concrete at the Falcon Dam in Starr County on Aug. 18, 2022. This area of the reservoir is normally under water, but because of an extended drought, water levels have been below 20% full since earlier this year. The Falcon Dam was dedicated by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mexican President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines in 1953.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
EPA may try to block what could be the first seawater desalination plant built in Texas
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. Full Story
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![The inside of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant in El Paso on April 16, 2012.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott declares Dallas-Fort Worth deluge a disaster, freeing up state resources to help in recovery
The declaration covers 23 counties across the state and comes after some saw more than 10 inches of rainfall Monday. Full Story
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![Gov. Abbott gets briefing from members of the Texas Emergency Management Council on the flash floods and excessive rain across the state at the Texas State Emergency Operations Center in Austin on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022.]()
Credit: State government website -
After decades of broken promises, a Texas “donut hole” community will get running water
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. Full Story
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![a home in the Cochran colonia.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel/DigDeep -
“A perfect storm”: Drought, extreme heat and two faulty wells threaten a North Texas town’s water supply
“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. Full Story
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![Gunter is a small town about 50 miles north of Dallas.]()
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The Odessa water outage underscores a growing problem: Aging pipes in Texas cities are getting more fragile
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. Full Story
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![Lightning from a passing storm strikes in the vicinity as City of Odessa Water Distribution employees work through the night to repair a broken water main Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa. According to Mayor of Odessa Javier Joven, repairs were completed around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Tens of thousands of people in Odessa have endured nearly 48 hours without water to drink, wash or flush toilets
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. Full Story
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![Ector County resident Jose Hernandez fills up jugs of water from a fire hydrant that was opened to reduce pressure on the system as City of Odessa Water Distribution crews work to resolve a water crisis Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa, Texas. Hernandez stated that he was using the water to operate the toilets in his home. The majority of Ector County was placed on a boil water notice after a water main ruptured sometime between Monday night and early Tuesday morning, leaving residents with little to no running water across the city. City officials state they hope to resolve the issue within 48-72 hours.]()
Credit: Courtesy Odessa American/Eli Hartman -
More than 165,000 people in Odessa still without water after aging line breaks
Officials haven’t specified what caused the break, but say the broken line is about 60 years old. Full Story
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![Motorists drive along Interstate 20 as rising gas prices begin to affect the Permian Basin on March 12, 2022 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Rural Texas was meant to get 10% of state bonds for water projects. It’s getting less than 1%.
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. Full Story
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![Cactus, Texas on Jan. 29, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Climate change is making Texas hotter, threatening public health, water supply and the state’s infrastructure
A report from the state climatologist finds that the state is experiencing hotter days with less relief from high temperatures at night. Full Story
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Rural Texas communities face long recoveries and stretched budgets without federal aid
Debbie Gosnell, city manager of Cross Plains, said it could take months for her community to recover from the winter storm. Without approval for federal aid, Gosnell worries the town's budget will not cover the numerous broken pipes and damaged buildings. Full Story
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![Marfa is covered with snow a second time. Another snowstorm came in early Thursday morning, the day after the power was restored in town. The temperature dropped to 7 degrees on Friday morning. Feb. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Sarah M. Vasquez for The Texas Tribune -
Plumber shortage and supply chain issues are delaying storm recovery efforts in Texas
A longstanding shortage of plumbers and disruptions to the supply chain of plumbing materials delivered to the state have combined to delay pipe and water heater repairs. Full Story
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![Zachary Shockency, a technician with Radiant Plumbing, looks for a burst pipe that caused flooding during last week's winter storm at a home in West Austin on Feb. 24, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Over a million Texans are still without drinking water. Smaller communities and apartments are facing the biggest challenges.
Plumbers and supplies to fix broken pipes are in high demand, but apartment complexes also present more difficulties than single-family homes when it comes to repairs. Full Story
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![Brian Frick demonstrates a bucket rigging system that the residents at Regency Apartments used to collect melting snow water as it flowed through the drain pipes in Austin on Feb. 24, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
“We are resilient people”: Texans share how they weathered the winter storm
From a new mom in Pflugerville who struggled to keep her baby warm to a Houston teacher worried about her students, listen to what some Texans endured in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![An eastbound view of East Stassney Lane in south Austin on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
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