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.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted inEnergy, Environment
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.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Water for Fracking
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.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Energy
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.