State lawmakers are poised to devote billions to save the state’s water supply. These are some of the ways the state could spend the money.
Alejandra Martinez
Alejandra Martinez is a Fort Worth-based environmental reporter. She’s covered the impacts of petrochemical facilities on Black and brown communities, including investigating a chemical fire at an industrial complex and how the state's air monitoring system has failed Latino communities. Her work on climate change includes exploring the health effects of extreme heat and how extended droughts affect water resources. Before joining the Tribune in 2022, Alejandra was an accountability reporter at KERA, where she began as a Report for America Corps Member and then covered Dallas City Hall. She also has worked as an associate producer at WLRN in South Florida. A Houston native, Alejandra studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and speaks fluent Spanish.
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Running Out: Texas’ Water Crisis
Lawmakers push to spend billions of dollars for water projects and debate which ones to prioritize
Gov. Greg Abbott has made water a priority for this legislative session. Lawmakers will debate whether to invest more into new water supplies or repairing old, leaking pipes around Texas.
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Environment
Texas farmers say sewage-based fertilizer tainted with “forever chemicals” poisoned their land and killed their livestock
The fertilizer was promoted as an environmental win-win for years. An untold number of farmers and ranchers across Texas have spread it on their land.
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Running Out: Texas’ Water Crisis
Texas lawmakers will debate saving the state’s water supply after key legislation is introduced
The state House and Senate have similar proposals to solve the state’s water crisis, but there are stark differences on how to invest billions of dollars to resolve.
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Running Out: Texas’ Water Crisis
Want to understand Texas’ water crisis? Start with the guide to water terms.
Water is complex. So are the terms used to describe it. Get to know the language as Texas debates how to save its water supply.
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Running Out: Texas’ Water Crisis
Texas is running out of water. Here’s why and what state leaders plan to do about it.
The state’s water supply faces numerous threats. And by one estimate, the state’s municipal supply will not meet demand by 2030 if there’s a severe drought and no water solutions are implemented.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas leaders defend Black official after lawmaker’s public interrogation of DEI policies left her in tears
The topic was a budget request from a state agency. The exchange grew emotional when a lawmaker pressed for answers about a strategic plan that praises diversity.
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Environment
New study finds elevated cancer rates near toxic San Jacinto River waste pits
State researchers found above normal levels of four types of cancer in communities near a toxic waste site.
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Energy
Why oil and gas companies want state oversight for carbon dioxide injection
Environmentalists are worried the state — known for a lax approach to regulation — is not prepared for the added responsibility of regulating certain carbon capture projects.
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Energy
Texas regulators grapple with a growing problem: old oil wells leaking polluted water
Two years after lawmakers created a $10 million program to address leaking wells in rural counties, none of the money has been distributed.