Water is Life

Water News Briefs (Posted By Mike Mecke)

Published in October 2010 Ranch & Rural Living Magazine

Paved Dallas-Fort Worth Prairie is Fertile Ground for Floodwaters

Sept. 9, 2010  By Randy Lee Loftis  Dallas Morning News

The tropical downpour in North Texas this week showed one effect of decades of urbanization: flash floods worsened by the wholesale paving of the prairie.
The remains of Tropical Storm Hermine left many neighborhoods awash Wednesday. And though few areas might escape flooding when 5 to 10 inches of rain falls in a day, planners say widespread development – the replacing of native grasslands and woods with roofs, roads and parking lots – has worsened the risk.
Water that once might have taken its time rambling along wide waterways and soaking into the soil now hurries toward the nearest overloaded drain or down a concrete-lined ditch.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/091010dnmetflood.29bc6e9.html

D-FW Businesses, Governments Trying to Conserve Water

Sept. 12, 2010  By Bill Hanna  Fort Worth Star-Telegram

There’s no way of getting around it — you can’t make beer without water. But the MillerCoors Fort Worth Brewery in south Fort Worth, while consuming 887 million gallons in 2009, is using less water these days.
. . .
And for many years Dallas-Fort Worth has battled the perception that it uses an inordinate amount of water compared with other parts of the state. Some Oklahoma legislators involved in the Tarrant Regional Water District’s legal fight to obtain water from north of the Red River have also portrayed the region’s communities as “water hogs” and given that as a reason for opposing the sale of water to Texas.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/12/2462204/dfw-businesses-governments-trying.html

Rainwater Catchment System Put to Use at BHS

Sept. 9, 2009   Bandera County Courier

Bandera High School’s Construction Trades classes made history today by using the district’s first rainwater catchment system, built last school year through a grant made possible by the Bandera ISD Education Foundation, to water the new BHS Softball Field.
With just a few adjustments, the students under the supervision of teacher Brad Flink and BISD maintenance worker Jason Smith were spraying a 30-foot stream of water over the softball outfield.
http://www.bccourier.com/Archives/Community_detail.php?recordID=100909C8

El Paso Water Utilities Projects Underway

Sept. 8, 2010  By Kandolite Flores  KFOX El Paso

An El Paso Water Utilities project has closed the right lane of Zaragoza Road just south of Gateway East for about 200 feet. A leak was detected in a waterline, and crews must excavate and survey the line to pinpoint the location of the leak. This work is necessary to prevent disruption of water service to customers and further inconveniences for drivers. The lane is anticipated to reopen by Friday, September 17. We ask for the community’s patience during this project.
http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/24926588/detail.html

Securing a Balance for Region’s Future Water

Sept. 12, 2010  By Robert Rivard  My SA News

Imagine a worst-case scenario in the coming years: A federal judge advised by officials charged with enforcing the Endangered Species Act decides when San Antonio residents can water their lawns and when farmers can irrigate their crops.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/environment/water_work_laboring_to_secure_a_regions_future_balance_102712199.html

Water Symposium Presentations Slated for Fredericksburg, San Antonio, Kerrville

The 2010-2011 Texas Water Symposium Series will provide perspectives from policy makers, scientists, water resource experts and regional leaders. Join us as we explore together, the complexity and challenges in providing water for Texans in this century. Each session is free and open to the public. Nov. 11: Texas Tech University, Hill Country University Center Bldg, Fredericksburg; Jan 27: Witte Museum, San Antonio co-hosted and sponsored by the Witte Museum; March 31: Schreiner University, Callioux Campus Activity Center, Kerrville Texas.
http://www.schreiner.edu/news/2010/news10_sept13_texas_water0913.html

Texas Water Development Board

Providing Application for Financial Assistance

Texas Water Development Board is offering a new application for financial assistance for water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/assistance/financial/fin_assistance/

Texas Irrigation Expo October 21-22, 2010

TexasIrrigationExpo.com

The Rio Grande Valley will be the site of a major, statewide exposition on agricultural irrigation to be held in Mercedes.
The two-day event will include presentations by expert speakers, tours of demonstration sites currently using on-farm water conservation tools and techniques, a scholarship contest for high school students, and exhibitors displaying the latest technology and equipment. The Harlingen Irrigation District is coordinating the event as part of the state’s Agricultural Water Conservation Demonstration Initiative, which is funded through a grant from the Texas Water Development Board. This event is free and open to the public.
http://www.texasirrigationexpo.org/

N.M. Official: Headwaters Deserve Special Protection

Sept. 15, 2010  By Susan Montoya Bryan  AP/Alamogorda Daily News

Nearly half of New Mexico’s surface water comes from federal forest lands, and some of those headwater streams, lakes and wetlands deserve special protections to ensure they continue providing clean water for the state, a top official with the New Mexico Environment Department said Tuesday. Marcy Leavitt, head of the department’s Water and Wastewater Division, was among the experts who testified before the Water Quality Control Commission at the start of a four-day hearing at the state capitol.
The commission is considering a petition by the department that aims to designate about 700 miles of rivers and streams, 29 lakes and more than 4,900 acres of wetlands in a dozen wilderness areas as so-called “outstanding national resource waters.” The designation would protect the waters by prohibiting any activities that would degrade water quality. Several of New Mexico’s rivers flow into Texas.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/newmexico/ci_16076925