Interactive Map: Texas Wastewater Disposal
Use our interactive map to see more than 7,000 sites across Texas where wastewater from oil and gas operations is being disposed of. Enter your ZIP code to find disposal wells near you. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Ryan Murphy / Todd Wiseman -
Texas Weekly Newsreel: Education, Water, Faith and Family
This week in the Newsreel: The Legislature makes progress on key education and water bills; Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, is busted for barratry; and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst bares his partisan teeth. Full Story
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As Fracking Proliferates, So Do Disposal Wells
As the water-intensive practice of fracking continues to spread, the amount of wastewater being buried in disposal wells around Texas has skyrocketed. But the wells bring concerns about truck traffic and the possibility of groundwater contamination. Full Story
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![Dirty truck tire tracks in front of the hookups at a Gulf Coast run fracking fluid disposal well site near Gonzales, TX, Friday, March 22, 2013.]()
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Use of Brackish Water Rising in Drilling Regions, but Challenges Persist
In drilling regions like the Permian Basin, where the water needs of fracking have run up against a historic drought, drillers are increasingly turning to brackish groundwater previously thought too expensive to use. Full Story
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![Brian Schoonover with Water Rescue Services holding a jar of produced water.]()
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Waterless Fracking Makes Headway in Texas, Slowly
Most fracking operations use several million gallons of water. But with water increasingly scarce and costly around Texas, a few companies have begun using alternative liquids, such as propane. Experts say the technology still has far to go. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Jennifer Whitney -
Drought Response Sparks the Battle of St. Augustine
The state's drought and the resulting need for conservation is starting to affect voters who are not usually aware of water shortages — people in the suburbs, with lush, thirsty lawns. Full Story
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Wichita Falls Among Cities Whose Water Could Run Dry By Year's End
Wichita Falls is the largest city in Texas in danger of running out of water. According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the city of more than 100,000 could run out of water in less than six months. Full Story
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![A plant employee, Charles Cupp, takes water samples at the Cypress Water Treatment Plant in Wichita Falls, on Friday, January 25, 2013. This plant is responsible for the membrane reverse osmosis process being used on the city's water supply. The city estimates that it's total water reserves are hovering around the 40 percent mark as of this year forcing it to begin implementing it's stage 3 emergency water restrictions and furthering steps toward increasing its water reclamation initiative.]()
Credit: Brandon Thibodeaux -
On Railroad Commission Campaign Finance, a Battle Looms
The three Texas Railroad Commissioners get their campaign coffers replenished by the industry they regulate, and lawmakers carrying the RRC Sunset legislation seem determined to make a change. The commissioners are equally determined to hold firm. Full Story
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![The Texas Railroad Commission, comprised of Chairman Barry T. Smitherman (center), and commissioners David Porter (left) and Christi Craddick (right) hold an open meeting in Austin, Texas on Jan. 15, 2013.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa -
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond