Meter Reading: Rain Gauges on the Decline, Peril for the Texas Power Market, and More

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

An empty rain guage is strapped to a fence post on the edge of a pasture July 28, 2011 near Canadian, Texas.

Austin seeks to rewrite gray water rules as conservation measure – “Now a city-organized task force is proposing new rules that would make it easier — if only slightly — for homeowners to add a gray water system.” — Austin American-Statesman

The Tricky Business of Counting Rain – “The number of water-monitoring stations around the world has declined steadily over the last quarter-century, and economic doldrums and a lack of resolve on the policy-making front could cause the trend to hold for years to come, researchers warn. This could deprive scientists and practitioners of data essential to immediate and long-term water resource management decisions, many argue.” — New York Times

Opinion: Peril dead ahead for power market – “With each passing day of summer, the deregulated electricity market looks more like the Titanic. On Thursday, the Public Utility Commission re­arranged the deck chairs while the iceberg – the prospect of a market failure – looms. As expected, the PUC voted to raise the price limits for wholesale electricity by 50 percent, just days after the state almost ran short of power.” — Loren Steffy in Fuel Fix