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May 17, 2023
Texas legislature Water Conservation Water Utilities

Water loss mitigation is finally getting the attention it deserves

Some great news for Texas’ strained water resources: after months of intense advocacy on addressing water loss in Texas systems, the Texas Living Waters team got a critical win yesterday as the House amended Senate Bill 28 to include water loss mitigation projects as an intended use of funds from the new Texas Water Fund. We have worked extensively this session to get water loss mitigation into the center of the water supply conversation. The release of Hidden Reservoirs, our groundbreaking statewide analysis of water loss and recovery potential, spurred a flurry of conversations at the Capitol culminating this week in Representative Tracy King proposing a water loss mitigation amendment to SB 28: Our work...

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by Texas Living Waters
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April 24, 2023
News

Come celebrate Texas rivers with us!

The TLW helped chip in on the brew day for Take Me to the River. Meanwhile has adopted a number water-saving measures we hope other area breweries will soon adopt. Join the Texas Living Waters Project at Meanwhile Brewing in Austin as we celebrate the release of ‘Take Me to the River’ — a hazy IPA brewed to celebrate Texas rivers using Meanwhile’s signature water-saving process. Attendees can watch a Groundwater vs Surface Water soccer match, enter a raffle to win prizes from Yeti and Patagonia, and chat with fellow Texas water-lovers as we celebrate our rivers. No Texas summer is complete without a trip to the river. While Texas rivers are beloved treasures, they are also...

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by Texas Living Waters
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March 23, 2023
Texas legislature

Amidst record growth, Texas needs to conserve its open land & water resources

Read more about the proposed new fund We're used to bad water news in Texas. This #WorldWaterDay there's something genuinely worth celebrating: Texas lawmakers are coming together behind two bills (HJR138/HB3165) that would grant $2 billion to help conserve Texas' open land and waterways under pressure from growth and climate change. To celebrate this positive momentum and encourage Texans to voice their support for these bills, National Wildlife Federation's Amanda Fuller spoke to a range of TV news channels from across Texas. Here's a quick roundup of some of the interviews and stories: CBS 12 - Sherman/North Texas https://youtu.be/WdrSDtvnjX8 Full story on KXII.com NBC News 4 - San Antonio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYBcdmWXpbo Full story on News4SanAntonio.com Fox 44 - Waco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7XTTjRYo0c Full story on Fox44news.com ABC 7 -...

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by Texas Living Waters
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March 20, 2023
Flood Mitigation News

Texas injunction a threat to clean water nationwide

The decision by a federal judge in Texas to freeze implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s clean water restoration rule in Texas and Idaho delays critical protections for drinking water, flood mitigation, and wildlife habitat for communities across both states. It also sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the urgent restoration of federal clean water protections nationwide. “Recent rollbacks of clean water protections left communities, businesses, and ecosystems in danger,” said Jim Murphy, director of legal advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation. “The EPA’s new rule is a common sense, science-based return to longstanding protections — firmly rooted in the structure and purpose of the Clean Water Act — that will begin to restore...

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by Jonathan Seefeldt
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January 24, 2023
Texas legislature

It’s time for a water session at the Legislature

by Jennifer Walker, National Wildlife Federation and Suzanne Scott, The Nature Conservancy There are now over 30 million Texans. The state crossed that landmark in mid-2022, gaining the most new residents of any state in the nation, with projections of an additional 25 million people living in Texas by 2050. All that growth is taking its toll on the state’s finite and fragile water resources. Groundwater, which supplies most of our state’s drinking water, is now being extracted at twice the sustainable rate and less than 2% of Texas streams remain free of significant chemicals from wastewater discharge. Increased climate variability is compounding things. After a decade of unprecedented flooding from Houston to the Hill Country, the last few years have...

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by Texas Living Waters
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September 7, 2022
State and Regional Water Plan Water Infrastructure Water Utilities

Texas is Losing an Average of Over 50 Gallons of Water Per Connection Every Day

New Analysis Shows the State Could Unlock Major Water Supplies by Addressing Aging Water Infrastructure After more than a year of research, analysis, and dialogue, we are thrilled to release today our major new study exploring water loss mitigation as a supply strategy for Texas. Texas water systems are losing at least 572,000 acre-feet of water per year — more than the 2020 annual water demand of Austin, Fort Worth, El Paso, Laredo, and Lubbock combined. Fixing leaks and replacing aging infrastructure could cut those losses in half and deliver more than four times the volume of water that new reservoirs have provided since 2010. If Texas utilities mitigate losses to a good performance level (i.e.,...

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by Texas Living Waters
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August 24, 2022
Drought Flood Mitigation News State and Regional Water Plan Water Infrastructure

Key Solutions to Texas’ Water Woes Are Simpler Than We Think

The National Wildlife Federation was recently invited to give testimony to the Texas Legislature on the condition of Texas' water and flood infrastructure and cost-effective ways to improve it. Jennifer Walker, deputy director of NWF's Texas Coast and Water Program, spoke to the Texas House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee on Aug 24, 2022. Both a recording of Walker's testimony and her full written remarks are included below: https://youtu.be/KgXEOYPtTEc Jennifer Walker, National Wildlife Federation, Testifying on Interim Charge 3: Examine the condition of Texas’ water and flood mitigation infrastructure capabilities and consider future infrastructure needs. Evaluate sustainable funding sources to provide for water project development and infrastructure repair and replacement. Examine and make recommendations for...

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by Jennifer Walker
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August 23, 2022
Hurricane Harvey News Texas legislature

Thinking Beyond and Before the Ike Dike: Why Texas Needs Holistic Solutions to Coastal Protection

The National Wildlife Federation was recently invited to give testimony to the Texas Legislature on the proposed Texas Coastal Barrier — a sprawling project that includes the so-called 'Ike Dike' concrete gate system. Danielle Goshen, policy specialist at the Texas Coast and Water Program of the National Wildlife Federation, spoke to the Texas House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee on Aug 23, 2022. Goshen noted the many concerns around the project's increasing costs, decades-long construction timeline, and limited efficacy. She encouraged the state to think beyond the single storm surge project proposed by the Army Corps, and take a more holistic approach to protecting the Texas Coast for our communities, our economy, our way...

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by Danielle Goshen
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August 9, 2022
News Water Infrastructure

Texas Can Address Mounting Water Woes with ‘Historic’ Influx of Funding

Public Hearing Provides Chance to Maximize Support to Disadvantaged Communities The first influx of funding for water infrastructure from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act could help transform aging Texas water systems buckling under pressure from deepening drought, extreme heat, and continued population growth. The Texas Water Development Board, the stage agency charged with dispersing the $2.9 billion designated for Texas water infrastructure over the next five years, will hear public input for the first time on how it plans to spend the first round of the new federal funds this Wednesday, Aug. 10 at 10 a.m. CDT. “From outbreaks of toxic algal blooms this summer to last year’s winter storm outages, it is clear...

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by Texas Living Waters
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