Mark Dewey of KUT News contributed reporting. Two high-profile Texas legislators have put the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) on notice this week: if you send water downstream to rice farmers in 2013, there will be consequences. In a letter to the LCRA, Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and Troy Fraser, R-Abilene, urge the LCRA to withdraw the emergency […]
While many lawns in Texas might have recovered since last year’s record drought, the lakes and reservoirs that supply water to the state have not. According to recent data from the Texas Water Development Board, just 66 percent of the state’s water supply reservoirs are full. And judging by the latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map […]
Rice farmers could be cut off for a second year in a row, or they could end up receiving water, potentially sending the Highland Lakes to historic low levels.
A new plan for emergency drought relief revealed this week has left many interests with a bad taste in their mouths.
We recently sat down with a panel of land experts at the Texas Tribune‘s Oct. 29 summit on water to discuss agriculture and state water management. The panel featured Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, David Langford of the Texas Wildlife Association and Laura Huffman of The Nature Conservancy of Texas. You can watch it in full […]
A criminal case about drilling waste disposal is raising questions about how state regulators are enforcing pollution laws.
What can the upcoming Texas legislature do about water, where will it find the funds if it decides to act? Those were some of the hot-button questions on tap at a recent Texas Tribune summit on water issues at Texas State University. Tribune Editor-In-Chief Evan Smith sat down with two state legislators, Rep. Allan Ritter (R-Nederland), chairman of the […]
After revised forecasts that this winter will not be as wet as anticipated in Texas, planners are calling for reduced water for agriculture on the Lower Colorado.
Without the appearance of El Niño, the odds decrease that Texas will get above-normal rain to bring back lakes and reservoirs still suffering from drought.
Even if the plan gets funding, some say it will not be enough.
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