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December 30, 2013
Blog Drought Groundwater State and Regional Water Plan Water Conservation

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy Holidays!  Here at the blog, we have been taking advantage of a slight lull in water news to rest up from a busy year and gear up for many important, upcoming issues.  It seems with each year, water becomes an increasingly urgent issue. We are thankful to be involved in this topic and we are most grateful to dedicated readers like yourself who chose to learn more and get involved.  Like many issues, the fate of water is too important to be determined by only a few.  It requires widespread participation to ensure that Texas’s water needs (human and otherwise) are met. Before we close out 2013, it is worth a quick review...

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by Jennifer Walker
2 Comments
November 27, 2013
Blog State and Regional Water Plan

What Can You Do Now That Proposition 6 Passed?

As you may have seen, Texans took historic action on November 5 when they overwhelmingly approved Proposition 6, the state constitutional amendment to create new funding for water projects in regional water plans (the building blocks for the state water plan). With passage of Prop 6, $2 billion will be transferred from the state’s “Rainy Day Fund” to the new State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT), and several provisions in HB 4, companion legislation passed by the Legislature earlier this year, will take effect. Next Steps Now the real work begins.  Successful implementation of Prop 6 and HB 4 is not automatic. Passing legislation is one thing, but ensuring that the goals of new...

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by Ken Kramer
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November 4, 2013
Blog Drought Environmental Flows Water Conservation

Let’s Talk About Turf

Now that we have survived another hot, dry summer and are firmly in the fall season, it is time to turn off the irrigation systems and take a moment to think about lawns. Outdoor water use can be a significant part of a household’s total water use, especially if the home has an irrigation system.  Homes with irrigation systems can use 50% to 100% more water on average than homes where someone manually irrigates with a hose and/or sprinkler. What Cities Can Do A new study from the Texas Water Resources Institute at Texas A&M shows that 46.6% of municipal water use is for “urban irrigation”, defined as lawns and golf courses.  This amounts to 2.262...

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by Jennifer Walker
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October 10, 2013
Blog State and Regional Water Plan Water Conservation

Land Use Choices Change Water Demand Projections

Cities across Texas are tasked with the daunting job of ensuring adequate water for their citizens into the future.  Decisions that are made regarding new supply of each can have large economic consequences for existing customers, but not pursuing supply may have dire consequences for the sustainability of the city.  Unfortunately, this fear of running out can cloud discussions about how much new water is really needed.  The key to getting this right is land use.  Too bad land use is often left out of conversations about expanding water resources. Hopefully, the conversation will change.  Next week, I will be taking part in the San Antonio Clean Technology Forum, which will bring city leaders...

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by Jennifer Walker
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October 4, 2013
Blog Water Conservation

Losing in Vegas – Water & Money!

This blog post was written by Ken Kramer, Water Resources Chair, Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club Most people who go to Las Vegas probably worry about losing money. Those of us here in Vegas at the Sixth Annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference, hosted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, worry about losing water. But water losses often mean lost revenue for water utilities; and if your water utility is losing too much water in its distribution system, it could be gambling with your community’s future. Maybe that’s why utility water loss was the topic of several sessions at the national water conservation conference I’m attending in Vegas. “Water loss” is a slippery term (pardon...

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by Jennifer Walker
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October 3, 2013
Blog Water Conservation

What Happens in Vegas Doesn’t Always Stay in Vegas!

This blog post was written by Ken Kramer, Water Resources Chair, Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club Sometimes being a water conservation advocate is tough work. For example, this week I had to travel to Las Vegas to attend the Sixth Annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference, the most prominent gathering of water conservation professionals and significant others held each year, hosted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority. This is the third one that I’ve attended, and I learn something new about water conservation and efficiency each year. Because water conservation is such an important part of the Texas Living Waters Project – and so important for the future of Texas – I’d like to...

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by Jennifer Walker
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October 2, 2013
Blog Groundwater State and Regional Water Plan Water Conservation

More Information on Texas Groundwater Law

Yesterday, I was invited to be on Texas Public Radio’s show, The Source to discuss the recent Bragg v. EAA court decision and the status of groundwater law in Texas.  Attempting to explain groundwater rules in short concise sound bites reminded me how complicated groundwater's legal history is and how unsustainable it can seem.  The show’s host, David Martin Davies commented that one of the challenges to water and water law is that so few people understand it or notice these new court decisions.  I have to agree.  It’s no one’s fault – it’s just so confusing!! I have been working with water law for about ten years and I am still learning...

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by Jennifer Walker
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October 1, 2013
Blog Drought Environmental Flows Water Conservation

Cutting off Matagorda Bay’s Water is Unwise and Inconsistent with Texas Law

Previously, we posted about LCRA’s decision to seek emergency authorization from TCEQ to allow them to diverge from their Water Management Plan and suspend river flows to Matagorda Bay LCRA submitted their request to TCEQ on Thursday, September 26th.  We will lay out the process at TCEQ in another post.  Our current guess is that TCEQ may not take action on the request until mid-late October. This request is unprecedented and should be approached with an abundance of caution.  It is important to know the water in question here is to provide “critical flows” to Matagorda Bay.  This minimal level of freshwater inflows is designed to provide a sanctuary area near the mouth of the...

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by Jennifer Walker
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September 19, 2013
Blog Drought Environmental Flows Uncategorized

State Officials Should Engage (Not Fight) Stakeholders on Endangered Species

When you decide to dedicate your career to environmental advocacy, you know the job will involve tackling some difficult issues and you know many people are going to disagree with you.  I think that’s great. The best ideas usually include a variety of opinions and viewpoints.  While I welcome a debate on complex environmental issues, a recent op-ed on endangered species protection written by Jerry Patterson, Texas’ current Land Commissioner and candidate for Lt. Governor simply took my breath away.  While it’s possible there is more background his comments, it wasn’t included so I took it at face value. I should start by stating that this post is based on two basic assumptions: 1)...

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by Jennifer Walker
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September 19, 2013
Blog Drought Environmental Flows Water Conservation

LCRA to Take Matagorda Bay Off Life Support?

UPDATE 9/19: The LCRA Board voted 9-6 yesterday to seek emergency authorization from TCEQ to temporarily suspend freshwater inflows to Matagorda Bay. ORIGINAL POST 9/12: Matagorda Bay is the second largest estuary on the Texas Gulf Coast.  The Bay stretches over approximately 350 square miles and, in a normal year, receives an average of 1.8 million acre-feet of inflows from the Colorado River. So far this year, bay inflows have been about 150,000 acre-feet.   Tuesday, the LCRA Board met to discuss the fate of Matagorda Bay.  More about that in a moment – but first let’s explain how we got there. The Colorado and Matagorda Bay As the stewards of the Lower Colorado River, the LCRA is...

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by Jennifer Walker
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