Have questions about the Hays County Park Bond? Here’s what you need to know before voting

October 12, 2020
Economics of Sound Planning

Before heading to the polls to vote, Hays County has invited voters to learn more about Proposition A – the 2020 Parks and Open Spaces Bond – on the ballot this year. To help voters be informed, Hays County created an educational outreach effort including a website: hays2020parksbond.com… “POSAC reviewed 19 submitted projects and recommended funding of 16 over several budget cycles,” Kennedy said. “Each project on the story map indicates the types of features that would result, including public…

Blanco Council approves balanced No-Discharge Task Force

October 2, 2020
Economics of Sound Planning

With its unanimous vote Sept. 8, the Blanco City Council delivered on progress toward a lasting solution with Protect Our Blanco for growth and development without wastewater discharge into the Blanco River. A contentious recent history is replaced today by a task force to discuss and quantify engineering options before the end of the year. The vote represents a second step forward following the Aug. 25 presentation from David Baker, Executive Director of the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association, representing Protect…

Comal County needs to borrow tools from Hays

September 14, 2020
Economics of Sound Planning

I want to thank Craig Massouh for the article published on August 21 about the work being done to protect our environmental resources in Comal County. Cliff Kaplan, the operations manager for the Hill Country Alliance (HCA) pointed out that “Hays County just agreed to put on the Nov. 3 election a $75-$80 million item to address the need for 16 parks throughout its county, including six in San Marcos and one in Kyle.” The article concluded by explaining what…

Texans must treat every drop of water as precious

September 8, 2020
Drought

The state of Texas is a behemoth. At some 268,000 square miles — from the Piney Woods of East Texas, the Hill Country and the Panhandle to the desert mountains of West Texas and the Gulf Coast — the Lone Star State encompasses disparate climate regions, each with varied economic, social and environmental drivers. As climate change continues, each of these areas will change. As a general rule, scientists predict a significantly warmer and drier climate — with occasional catastrophic…

Ensuring One Water delivers for healthy waterways: A framework for incorporating healthy waterways into One Water plans and projects

September 8, 2020
Drought

The One Water approach offers tremendous opportunities for improving how water is managed within communities. Using water efficiently and taking advantage of diverse, locally available water supplies are important goals. It is also important that the approach support communities in assessing how their water use affects the health of waterways, both upstream, where water is sourced, and downstream, where other communities and aquatic resources may be impacted. Local water capture and reuse technologies are some of the most successful innovations…

Blue Hole Primary wins TWDB Rain Catcher Award

September 8, 2020
Economics of Sound Planning

The Wimberley Valley Watershed Association is so proud of the collective accomplishment that is Wimberley ISD’s One Water School – Blue Hole Primary. The honor of the 2020 TWDB Rain Catcher Award will be shared by the many hands and minds that came together to make this reality—not just theory. The Wimberley Valley Watershed Association has a long history of preserving and protecting water resources in Hays County and the greater Hill Country. Locally, we see water resources that are…

City could store three Lake Austins’ worth of water underground by 2040

September 8, 2020
Drought

Austin gets all of its water from the Highland Lakes, but that might not always be the case. The city recently took a first step towards storing massive amounts of water underground. If the plan works, it could help Austin survive as climate change threatens traditional water supplies. The technique is called aquifer storage and recovery, or ASR. In it, utilities pump water into underground aquifers to save it for later. Aquifer storage and recovery is touted as a good…

Texas Water Development Board announces the 2020 Texas Rain Catcher Award recipients

September 8, 2020
Economics of Sound Planning

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) announced today the recipients of its annual Texas Rain Catcher Award, a rainwater harvesting competition and recognition program. The award recipients have displayed excellence in rainwater harvesting in Texas in four categories: commercial/industrial, agricultural, educational/governmental, and residential. Congratulations to the 2020 Texas Rain Catcher Award winners: Anodamine, Inc. for its rainwater harvesting system and reuse for industrial processes The Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and the Parker County Livestock Improvement Association for their rainwater…

Hays County kicks off Wimberley Valley Trails Initiative

September 8, 2020
Economics of Sound Planning

Hays County is kicking-off its new Wimberley Valley Trails initiative, an effort to develop a multi-year vision to improve connectivity in the City of Wimberley and surrounding areas. This vision includes a system of hike and bike trails, multi-modal transportation options, and other strategies to help connect people with nature and link regional points of interest in the community. Read more from San Marcos Corridor News here.

Water, Texas: Three thirsty Texas cities are global leaders in water innovation

August 20, 2020
Drought

Emily Dickinson once wrote that “water is taught by thirst.” In Texas, a state that knows no bounds of economic ambition but is regularly disciplined by deep droughts, water is indeed taught by thirst. That is especially true in three big Texas cities that are globally significant innovators in water planning, technology, and use. Austin adopted a 100-year water plan in 2018 that essentially calls for conservation and recycling programs so advanced that the city anticipates supplying a healthy share…