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October 21, 2020
Blog Environmental History

Imagine a Texan Day Without Water

Today we join the US Water Alliance to #imagineadaywithoutwater. What would the Lone Star State be like without water? Let’s just say it would most definitely MESS with Texas. Water has, in many ways, made Texas what it is today. Not convinced? Let’s take a Texas-sized step back in time, oh say 65 million years ago. West Texas and the Panhandle are under water. Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan are flourishes in a 400-mile coral reef and El Paso is a dark ocean trough. Yes, at this point most of Texas IS water. Then, in a tectonic shift with a name worthy of an Elmer Kelton character, the Laramide Orogeny begins to push what...

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by Jonathan Seefeldt
Jonathan Seefeldt
Jonathan Seefeldt
Communications Manager at Texas Coast and Water Program, National Wildlife Federation
Jonathan Seefeldt
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Jonathan Seefeldt
Jonathan Seefeldt
Communications Manager at Texas Coast and Water Program, National Wildlife Federation
Jonathan Seefeldt
Latest posts by Jonathan Seefeldt (see all)
Jonathan Seefeldt
Jonathan Seefeldt
Communications Manager at Texas Coast and Water Program, National Wildlife Federation
Jonathan Seefeldt
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September 21, 2020
Blog Flood Mitigation

Harris County Passes Bylaws for Community Task Force to Create a More Resilient Future

Listen below as Texas Living Waters' Danielle Goshen discusses the reconstituted Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force with two of the architects of the Harris Thrives Resolution: Iris Gonzalez, Director of CEER, the Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience, and Jordan Macha, Executive Director of Bayou City Waterkeeper. Iris Gonzalez, Director of CEER, the Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience Jordan Macha, Executive Director of Bayou City Waterkeeper Danielle Goshen, Water Policy & Outreach Specialist, Galveston Bay Foundation On August 11, 2020, Harris County Commissioners approved bylaws to reconstitute the Harris County Flood Control District Task Force as the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force (CFRTF). The previous task force, in place since 1972, was criticized for...

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by Danielle Goshen
Danielle Goshen
Danielle Goshen
Water Policy & Outreach Specialist at Galveston Bay Foundation
Danielle joined the Texas Living Waters Project in August 2019. Her interest in environmentalism and curiosity on how natural systems function inspired her to attend the University of Toronto for her undergraduate degrees in environmental geography and environmental studies. Later, she continued her studies at the University of Georgia School of Law. During that time, Danielle interned at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 4 office and served as a Georgia Sea Grant Legal Fellow working on coastal resiliency projects. Danielle enjoys playing competitive sports with friends and going on outdoor adventures with her dog, Bozeman.
Danielle Goshen
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Danielle Goshen
Danielle Goshen
Water Policy & Outreach Specialist at Galveston Bay Foundation
Danielle joined the Texas Living Waters Project in August 2019. Her interest in environmentalism and curiosity on how natural systems function inspired her to attend the University of Toronto for her undergraduate degrees in environmental geography and environmental studies. Later, she continued her studies at the University of Georgia School of Law. During that time, Danielle interned at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 4 office and served as a Georgia Sea Grant Legal Fellow working on coastal resiliency projects. Danielle enjoys playing competitive sports with friends and going on outdoor adventures with her dog, Bozeman.
Danielle Goshen
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Danielle Goshen
Danielle Goshen
Water Policy & Outreach Specialist at Galveston Bay Foundation
Danielle joined the Texas Living Waters Project in August 2019. Her interest in environmentalism and curiosity on how natural systems function inspired her to attend the University of Toronto for her undergraduate degrees in environmental geography and environmental studies. Later, she continued her studies at the University of Georgia School of Law. During that time, Danielle interned at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 4 office and served as a Georgia Sea Grant Legal Fellow working on coastal resiliency projects. Danielle enjoys playing competitive sports with friends and going on outdoor adventures with her dog, Bozeman.
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August 17, 2020
Blog Flood Mitigation

Citizens Advisory Committees: A Rare Opportunity for Texans to Help Shape Pre-Disaster Flood Mitigation

In a rush? Listen to a 90-second audio summary of this article read by the author herself. Texans have a tangible opportunity to shape how their communities prepare for future heavy rain and flooding. It’s buried in a maze of bureaucratic language and comes with some unknowns, but it’s there and worth your time—especially if you live in a vulnerable area. This opportunity is called Citizen Advisory Committees, or CACs.  Texas has received an influx of nearly 4.3 billion dollars in the form of Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds set aside for flood mitigation projects in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey, as well as 2015 and 2016 floods in Texas. These funds...

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by Teal Harrison
Teal Harrison
Teal Harrison
Outreach Manager at National Wildlife Federation
Teal contributes to Texas Living Waters outreach efforts helping Texans tackle floods, droughts, and ensure freshwater for every living thing. She is passionate about connecting people with nature and using community outreach, experiential education and media to motivate action. In the recent past, Teal has designed and implemented place-based outdoor education programming in New Orleans, LA, has researched effective practices to motivate water quality stewardship among U.S. farmers in 11 states, and has produced a virtual case study highlighting the socio-ecological implications of dams and their removal in Northern Michigan.
Teal Harrison
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Teal Harrison
Teal Harrison
Outreach Manager at National Wildlife Federation
Teal contributes to Texas Living Waters outreach efforts helping Texans tackle floods, droughts, and ensure freshwater for every living thing. She is passionate about connecting people with nature and using community outreach, experiential education and media to motivate action. In the recent past, Teal has designed and implemented place-based outdoor education programming in New Orleans, LA, has researched effective practices to motivate water quality stewardship among U.S. farmers in 11 states, and has produced a virtual case study highlighting the socio-ecological implications of dams and their removal in Northern Michigan.
Teal Harrison
Latest posts by Teal Harrison (see all)
Teal Harrison
Teal Harrison
Outreach Manager at National Wildlife Federation
Teal contributes to Texas Living Waters outreach efforts helping Texans tackle floods, droughts, and ensure freshwater for every living thing. She is passionate about connecting people with nature and using community outreach, experiential education and media to motivate action. In the recent past, Teal has designed and implemented place-based outdoor education programming in New Orleans, LA, has researched effective practices to motivate water quality stewardship among U.S. farmers in 11 states, and has produced a virtual case study highlighting the socio-ecological implications of dams and their removal in Northern Michigan.
Teal Harrison
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August 7, 2020
Blog Explore Texas Waters Water Conservation

Lockdown Relief and Reflections at Gorman Falls

As part of our ongoing effort to capture the many dimensions of Texan waterscapes, Ellen Larson, an Austin-area high school student and a Summer 2020 Texas Living Waters volunteer, reflects on the beauty and precarity of our favorite summer escapes: As we head into a late Texas summer, sweltering heat coupled with restlessness in our homes has made venturing into the outdoors necessary but somewhat miserable. During this time my family has turned to one thing: Texas parks and their water. The Spicewood Springs Trail in Colorado Bend State Park is filled with inviting swimming spots. Photo: Ellen Larson, 2020. It’s become a tradition every Friday over the past few months for my family and I...

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by Guest contributor
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July 15, 2020
Blog Water Conservation Water Utilities

The Top 7 Water Utilities in Texas: What They’re Doing Right

The recently-released 2020 Texas Water Conservation Scorecard provides an extraordinarily detailed analysis of water conservation efforts at over 350 Texas water utilities. The only effort of its kind in Texas, the Scorecard evaluates each utility on a range of criteria including compliance with conservation planning and reporting requirements, its record on water loss and meeting targets for water use reduction, outdoor watering limits, and rate-based incentives for efficient use of water. Medium to large utilities were evaluated on 10 criteria and could earn up to 100 points on the scorecard. Smaller utilities were evaluated on 6 criteria and could earn up to 55 points. While a comparison with the 2016 Scorecard shows mixed progress...

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by Texas Living Waters
Texas Living Waters
Texas Living Waters
The Texas Living Waters Project works to ensure that Texas has the water it needs for thriving communities and abundant fish and wildlife.
Texas Living Waters
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Texas Living Waters
Texas Living Waters
The Texas Living Waters Project works to ensure that Texas has the water it needs for thriving communities and abundant fish and wildlife.
Texas Living Waters
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Texas Living Waters
Texas Living Waters
The Texas Living Waters Project works to ensure that Texas has the water it needs for thriving communities and abundant fish and wildlife.
Texas Living Waters
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