Tag Archives: Texas Water Development Board

Corpus gets another reprieve

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Hope they make good use of it. Corpus Christi got “tremendous” news Monday when the city’s projected water emergency was delayed until fall 2028 — a year later than previously anticipated — as floodwater from recent intense storms continues flowing … Continue reading →

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A couple of water stories

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Story #1: Texas’ Refusal to Plan for Climate Change Created a Crisis in Corpus Christi. A decade ago, Corpus Christi’s regional water plan projected shortages as soon as 2050. The next plan, released five years later, shortened that timeline to 2030. The next plan, … Continue reading →

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Corpus Christi and the Governor’s race

Posted on June 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Of course it’s an issue. Most things should be. Corpus Christi’s impending water crisis — and delayed action by city leaders — has become an issue in the race for Texas governor, with Gov. Greg Abbott threatening a state takeover … Continue reading →

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Corpus Christi kicks the can

Posted on June 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. A bitterly divided Corpus Christi City Council voted early Wednesday morning to delay a decision on reviving an almost billion-dollar water plant it had rejected nine months earlier. The 7-2 vote came at 2:20 a.m., almost 15 … Continue reading →

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The rain reprieve

Posted on May 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

You’re welcome, Corpus. A projection for when Corpus Christi expects to reach a water crisis was pushed back by three months after a wet April brought enough rain to delay an emergency but too little to quench a brutal drought. … Continue reading →

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It’s not just Corpus Christi

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I feel bad for these people. At least six small cities and towns in the Coastal Bend region of Texas issued disaster declarations in the last two weeks, begging not to be forgotten amid a spiraling water crisis. All attention lies … Continue reading →

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Two water stories

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We’re not spending enough on increasing our water supplies. Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 … Continue reading →

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Drill, baby, drill (for water)

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Checking in on Corpus Christi and it surrounding areas. Dwindling levels in this region’s main reservoirs have triggered a rush on local aquifers as cities, towns, chemical plants and ranchers drill for water. The nearby city of Corpus Christi faces … Continue reading →

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So when might Corpus Christi run out of water?

Posted on March 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Could be sooner, could be later. Pick your projection. Corpus Christi leaders on Tuesday unveiled new projections suggesting that the city could be just two months away from triggering emergency water measures. At a marathon city council meeting that stretched … Continue reading →

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Abbott threatens to take over Corpus Christi

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

How would that work, exactly? Gov. Greg Abbott criticized Corpus Christi leadership Tuesday over its looming water crisis and warned that if local leaders do not take immediate action, the state may need to intervene to ensure residents and businesses … Continue reading →

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What happens if Corpus Christi runs out of water?

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We may be on the verge of finding out. The imminent depletion of water supplies in Corpus Christi threatens to cut off the flow of jet fuel to Texas airports and other oil exports from one of the nation’s largest … Continue reading →

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Why Kerr County turned down state flood grant money

Posted on December 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Three weeks after flash floods in Texas’ Hill Country killed more than 100 people, state lawmakers chastised Kerr County leaders for rejecting money a year earlier to create a warning system that could have alerted residents to rapidly … Continue reading →

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What the Lege has done since redistricting

Posted on August 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just a couple of headlines to ponder, now that the redistricting bill has been signed. Texas House greenlights ‘bounty hunter’ abortion pill ban Texas House OKs transgender bathroom ban after years of GOP attempts Yep, definitely doing the hard work … Continue reading →

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Hill Country flood hearings

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Brutal. Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator acknowledged Thursday that he was ill and asleep when rain inundated the Hill Country community early July 4. Will Thomas told lawmakers during a legislative hearing in Kerrville that his wife woke him at … Continue reading →

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Start of the special session flooding roundup

Posted on July 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder of why we’re supposedly here, the non-THC reason. Texas lawmakers largely ignored recommendations aimed at helping rural areas like Kerr County prepare for flooding Sixteen months had passed since Hurricane Harvey tore through the Texas coast in … Continue reading →

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Hill Country flood roundup

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just some articles of interest, no real thread. Climate Change Helped Fuel Heavy Rains That Led to Devastating Texas Flood Climate scientists said the torrential downpours on July 4 exemplify the devastating outcomes of weather intensified by a warming atmosphere. … Continue reading →

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So now the Lege will get involved

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As I said yesterday, I don’t know if Greg Abbott would have called a special session to address the great tragedy happening in the Hill Country if one hadn’t already been on the calendar for other reasons. He didn’t call … Continue reading →

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The flood warning history of Kerr County

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve tried for awhile to get some funding for a flood warning system. They’ve failed every time. Nearly a decade before catastrophic flash flooding killed at least 75 people in Kerr County, including 27 children, several local officials were hard … Continue reading →

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An overview of our state water situation

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s pretty bad. Texas officials fear the state is gravely close to running out of water. Towns and cities could be on a path toward a severe shortage of water by 2030, data compiled in the state’s 2022 water plan … Continue reading →

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Water, water, everywhere

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

All due to leaks. Texas’ most populous cities lost roughly 88 billion gallons of water last year because of aging water infrastructure and extreme heat, costing them millions of dollars and straining the state’s water supply, according to self-reported water … Continue reading →

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We have a statewide flood plan

Posted on August 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Now let’s see what we do with it. Texas officials adopted their first-ever statewide flood plan Thursday, recommending $54.5 billion worth of strategies and studies to protect the 1 in 6 Texans who live or work in flood hazard … Continue reading →

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Here’s your state flood plan

Posted on June 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We have a lot of people living in flood-prone areas. That’s not going away. More than 5 million Texans, or one in six people in the state, live or work in an area susceptible to flooding, according to a draft … Continue reading →

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Hope we have enough water this summer

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not looking great for some parts of the state right now. Two consecutive summers of brutal heat and drought have left some parts of Texas with notably low water supplies going into 2024. A wet year or a well-placed hurricane … Continue reading →

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Drought 2023

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s bad. Any questions? A lingering drought affecting more than 80% of Texas is causing wildfires, hurting agriculture and drying up water supplies throughout the state. This year’s drought comes less than a year after Texas experienced one of its … Continue reading →

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“The Dead Sea of West Texas”

Posted on February 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not a vacation spot. About twenty-five miles north of Fort Stockton sits what looks, at first blush, like an oasis amid the West Texas desert. When I recently visited what might be Texas’s newest sizable body of water, its color … Continue reading →

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When Houston is more like Austin

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In a climate sense. Which is to say, drier because of climate change. A new study predicts that Texas’ climate is going to get drastically drier because of climate change. The journal Earth’s Future recently published the study looking at … Continue reading →

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A look at the Constitutional amendments we will see this November

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There are ten of them, including a couple I will vote against as hard as I can. House Joint Resolution 4 would let the Texas Water Development dole out dollars from a flood infrastructure fund — created by Senate Bill … Continue reading →

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From Harvey to drought

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. The Texas Panhandle has become ground zero in a drought that has crept into much of the state just five months after Hurricane Harvey — including areas that suffered massive flooding during the … Continue reading →

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Abbott orders state agencies to obey the law

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Better late than never. Gov. Greg Abbott and Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Wednesday ordered state agencies to stop paying departing employees by placing them on “emergency leave.” “Pursuant to this directive, the use of emergency leave, administrative leave or other … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Project requests investigation of severance packages

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Today, Lone Star Project Director Matt Angle sent letters to the Texas Rangers, the State Auditor and the Travis County District Attorney requesting formal investigations into a series of questionable payments made by Attorney General Ken Paxton, … Continue reading →

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We still face water shortages

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, we’ve had a lot of rain lately. No, that hasn’t solved all our water problems. The recent rainfall that drenched much of Houston and the state was thought to put the drought and the state’s water supply concerns at … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder, we still need to use less water

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

In particular, we need to water our lawns less. Even Texans with the greenest of lawns water them too much, many landscape experts say. And if everyone would turn on the sprinklers only twice a week — still probably more … Continue reading →

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Give up the green

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Note: From time to time, I solicit guest posts from various individuals on different topics. While I like to think I know a little something about a lot of things, I’m fortunate to be acquainted with a number of people … Continue reading →

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Maybe we don’t need that much more water

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

More conservation would mean less demand and less need going forward. Drought-prone Texas could make better use of its existing water supplies and avoid spending billions of dollars on new reservoirs, pipelines and other big-ticket projects with more realistic forecasts … Continue reading →

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