House Passes Public Utility Commission Sunset Bill
A sunset bill that continues the operations of the Public Utility Commission of Texas won approval Wednesday from the House, though the legislation would adjust how the commission works. Full Story
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Updated Data App: Track Texas Reservoir Levels
Texas endured the most intense drought in recorded state history in 2011, and it has yet to bounce back. Using data collected from the Texas Water Development Board's reservoir status tracker, we are relaunching our auto-updating map that visualizes the current state of Texas reservoirs. Full Story
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New Official Means New Chapter in Texas vs. EPA Fight
The rocky relationship between the state and the federal Environmental Protection Agency stretches back years, but a new regional official at the agency says tempers may be cooling. Full Story
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Recycling Oilfield Water Has Far to Go in Texas
In Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale, natural gas companies recycle water as a matter of course. But recycling is only getting started in the Texas oilfields because using freshwater for hydraulic fracturing is cheap. Full Story
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![Employees at Omni Water Solutions working on the "HIPPO," a mobile frackwater recycling unit.]()
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Blue Mound Residents Boiling Over Water Rate
In the North Texas town of Blue Mound, the water system is owned by a private corporation. Residents say this results in painful rate hikes. Private water companies say their rates reflect the high costs of providing water to far-flung areas. Full Story
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![Roy Thornhill Sr. (center) voices his concern as residents of the City of Blue Mound, Texas, gather at their community center, on Monday, March 4, 2013. The small North Texas City of Blue Mound held a town hall meeting on Monday, March 4, for its residents to sign a petition against what they say are unjustifiably high water rate increases.]()
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State Water Plan Advances in Legislature
Amid growing pressure on lawmakers to address the state's water needs, a conservation-focused plan to establish a long-term fund for water projects took a significant step forward on Thursday. Full Story
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The Polling Center: Water Not Floating to Top With Texas Voters
Despite water’s saturation of the political priority list, the public still appears ambivalent about Texas’ water needs and out of step with state legislators on how to pay for it, according to the latest UT/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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As Fights Over Pipeline Persist, Bills Target Eminent Domain
While Texas landowners continue to fight the Canadian pipeline company TransCanada in court over the Keystone XL pipeline, state lawmakers have filed bills that would fundamentally change the way pipeline companies take private property in Texas. Full Story
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Ambiguities Reign in Regulations for Groundwater Fracking
Can groundwater authorities in Texas require oil and gas drillers to obtain permits for the water they use in hydraulic fracturing? No one knows for sure, thanks to ambiguities in the water code. Full Story
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Lawmakers Say Mexico Falling Short on Its End of Water Treaty
A decades-old treaty that mandates how Mexico and the U.S. share water from rivers is once again the genesis of growing frustrations from U.S. landowners and lawmakers. Full Story
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![The Rio Grande is the ending place of many high-speed pursuits. People escape consequences by driving their vehicles into the water and swimming to Mexico.]()
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Ruling on Whooping Cranes Could Be Felt Across State
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality safeguards the state’s natural resources, but this week a federal judge found the agency responsible for the deaths of 23 whooping cranes — a ruling with potentially wide-ranging consequences. Full Story
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
The results of the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll on everything from the top race of 2014 to the gun debate, Aaronson on Medicaid expansion, Aguilar on a financial thaw in the Mexican oil patch, Batheja on cents and sensibility, M. Smith on school choice, Rocha and Dehn on TWIA reform, Galbraith on water and fracking, Murphy’s interactive map of poverty in the state, E. Smith's TribLive interview with House Public Education Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock and Root on a lobby couple living large and reporting small: The best of our best content from March 4-8, 2013. Full Story
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Fracking Increase Spurs Fears Over Water Use
The amount of water used in hydraulic fracturing has stirred concerns around Texas, especially as the drought wears on. Aware that they are under the spotlight, drillers are testing out recycling and other water-saving techniques. Full Story
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![A water truck parked near a West Texas drilling rig. Oil and gas companies' use of water for hydraulic fracturing has sparked growing concerns.]()
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Legislation Would Help Bring Native Plants Back to Texas
With invasive plant species taking over the Texas landscape, lawmakers are looking at how to bring back native plants. Two new bills could help increase the supply of drought-resistant native seeds in Texas. Full Story
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![George Cates, a manager at Native American Seed's seed cleaning plant in Junction, shows a handful of Bluebonnet seeds.]()
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Mexico's Energy Proposal Stirs Interest in Texas
Mexico's ruling party says the country's oil monopoly will stay under state control. But on Sunday, the party adopted a platform to allow for private investment in the oil giant, drawing interest among Texas companies. Full Story
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Oil Boom Moves Fracking to Forefront in Legislature
Despite mounting concerns over disruptions to the environment and infrastructure, Texas lawmakers haven't soured on fracking. But that hasn't kept the practice out of the sights of legislators pushing for more regulations. Full Story
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Water Planners Floating Several Reservoir Projects
Reservoir projects are inching forward throughout Texas as an answer to the drought, but environmentalists argue that they are unnecessary and expensive. Full Story
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Texas Shale Regions' Fortunes Diverge
As the price of natural gas has declined, much of Texas' drilling activity has moved south, to the Eagle Ford Shale, leaving the battle-tested Barnett Shale in North Texas with an uncertain future. Full Story
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Danny Krienke: The TT Interview
The North Plains Groundwater Conservation District board member on the district’s unusually strict water-meter requirements, the drought and how the iPad is making it possible to farm from a cafe. Full Story
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Raw Milk Bill Draws Proponents, Detractors to Hearing
Proponents and critics weighed in Wednesday on a bill that would allow the sale of raw milk at farmer’s markets and other sites like fairs and flea markets. Full Story
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Credit: Kristen Taylor