The historic Texas drought caused the Ogallala Aquifer to experience its largest decline in 25 years across a large swath of the Texas Panhandle, new numbers from a water district show.

The Public Utility Commission approved a 50 percent increase for the cap on wholesale electricity prices on the Texas electrical grid. That will mean higher prices for ordinary Texans, consumer advocates fear.

Texas’ efforts to stave off future blackouts could cost ordinary households hundreds of dollars per year, a filing by a Texas industrial group suggests. Texas regulators are due to vote on the proposal next week.

As summer begins, the spotlight will be on the dunes sagebrush lizard (will it get an endangered listing or not?), former EPA regional head Al Armendariz (who's testifying in Washington) — and, of course, the perpetual question of whether the electric grid has enough juice.

A federal decision not to list the dunes sagebrush lizard — whose habitat includes the West Texas oilfields — as threatened or endangered set off a round of cheering by state officials and oil groups. But some environmentalists fear for the lizard's future.

As Texas recovers from the severe drought of the last two years, water experts say that conservation is the easiest way to make sure the state has enough water for future growth. But conservation doesn't always come naturally.

Later this year, a plant in Big Spring will become the state's first facility to process wastewater and send it back into the drinking water system. This is the ultimate use of "reclaimed water" — a source crucial to Texas' future.

The ultimate use of sewage water is converting it into drinking water — and a plant in the West Texas town of Big Spring will do exactly that when it begins operations at the end of the year. This is a slideshow of the plant, currently under construction.

Desalination has become a buzzword in water discussions around the state, amid concerns over future supplies. But tapping salty aquifers, or even seawater from the Gulf of Mexico, carries costs.

The drought has pushed Texas cities to raise rates to pay for new water supplies and to encourage conservation. But raising rates often triggers public resistance in a state that is wary of too much government.

Texas cities have traditionally enjoyed lower water rates than most metro areas in the nation. Use this interactive to see how Texas cities compare in regard to water rates, single-family usage and weather.

At a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday, congressional Republicans heaped criticism on the EPA and its former south-central region chief, Al Armendariz, who had been scheduled to testify but canceled at the last minute.

A 135-page report by a Massachusetts-based consulting group is the latest analysis suggesting that the Texas electric grid does not have adequate reserves for future years.

A site near Amarillo operated by the federal government produces about a third of the world's helium, which is  needed for MRIs and semiconductors. Lawmakers are looking to keep vital sales of the gas from being interrupted. 

The Rio Grande, which supplied 39 percent of El Paso's water last year, is dry near the city — a situation that has not occurred for nearly 10 years. El Paso is pumping more groundwater and cranking up its desalination plant.