Aaronson and Tan interactively map women’s health program providers in Texas, Galbraith talks to the state’s climatologist about (what else?) the drought, Grissom with the latest on violence in youth prisons, Hamilton on why UTEP’s low four-year graduation rate may not matter, Murphy’s interactive comparing graduation rates and more at public universities in Texas, Ramsey on the redistricting end game (we think), Ramshaw on the state health commissioner’s attack on Planned Parenthood and Root on the closing of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s storied Austin bureau: The best of our best content from February 27 to March 2, 2012.
water supply
Posted in
Energy
With Water Denied, Rice Farmers Face an Uncertain Future
The Lower Colorado River Authority decided Thursday night that there wasn’t enough water in the Highland Lakes to send water downstream to rice farmers in Southeast Texas. Terrence Henry of KUT News and StateImpact Texas reports on where the farmers go from here.
Posted in
Energy
Effects of Landmark Groundwater Ruling Still Unclear
Legal experts and property owners are still digesting the ramifications of a Texas Supreme Court ruling that landowners own the water beneath their land. As Mose Buchele of KUT News reports for StateImpact Texas, the consequences for landowners and conservationists remain murky.
Posted in
Energy
State Climatologist Has Eye on the Sky for Texas
John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas’ state climatologist since 2000, has seen his duties explode in the last 18 months amid public clamor for information on the drought.
Posted in
Energy
Bad News Expected Today for Texas Rice Farmers
Texas rice farmers near the Gulf Coast are anxiously awaiting word on whether they’ll get water from the Lower Colorado River Authority for a rice crop this spring. The LCRA says the farmers’ prospects are not good — which will relieve other Texans who also have a stake in the water.
Posted in
Energy
Conservation a Growing Focus for Industrial Plants as Drought Stirs Fears
For Texas industry, the drought has brought a conservation focus at many plants, which may have to pay more for future supplies.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas Supreme Court Hands Victory to Landowners in Landmark Water Case
In a case with potentially vast implications for groundwater rules, the court has unanimously ruled in favor of two farmers in the San Antonio area who challenged a local aquifer authority’s restrictions on their well use.
Posted in
Energy
Updated: LCRA Passes Water Plan for Lakes
The Lower Colorado River Authority will soon decide whether rice farmers near the Gulf Coast will get water this year when the lakes near Austin are low because of the drought.
Posted in
Energy
River Authority to Consider Far-Reaching Water Plan
The Lower Colorado River Authority, the utility that controls water flowing from the Highland Lakes to the Gulf Coast, is set to approve a new plan for allocating water. But as Mose Buchele of StateImpact Texas reports, the authority will first hear from the various — and often feuding — communities relying on the affected water sources.
Posted in
Energy
A Rush for Water Wells as Texas Drought Drags On
As the drought drags on, many Texans are getting their own water wells drilled. But the growing demand has some worried that the groundwater could start drying up, too.
