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Water rights battle on South Llano River
Politics & Policy|
August 16, 2023

Dam It?

An oil executive wants to block the South Llano River for private recreational purposes. Hill Country residents are outraged.

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Politics & Policy|
April 30, 2013

How the Water Bill Dried Up

It was a wild night in the House yesterday as Democrats and Republicans battled over their respective priorities: water, for Republicans and education, for Democrats. The leadership could not get the votes for taking money out of the Rainy Day Fund for water—even though Perry came out for doing

By Paul Burka and Brian D. Sweany

Politics & Policy|
April 29, 2013

Water, Water, Everywhere?

Today is the pivotal moment of the session—a vote on HB 11, the funding bill for the water plan. The vote was preceded this afternoon by a meeting of the House Republican caucus, at which Rick Perry was in attendance. Afterward, he told reporters that the prudent

By Paul Burka and Brian D. Sweany

Burka Blog|
March 28, 2013

The House That Straus Built

AP Photo | Eric GayJoe Straus said at the beginning of the session that he was going to put the House to work on the state’s biggest problems, and he is making good on his vow. On Tuesday the House passed HB 5, a major public education bill that

By Paul Burka and Brian D. Sweany

Technology|
January 21, 2013

Industrial Evolution

As much as anything, the Texas economic miracle depends on water. Lots of water. So what are all those power plants, refineries, and factories going to do as the state gets drier and drier and drier?

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Politics & Policy|
January 21, 2013

Drawing Straws

The future is likely going to require us to move large amounts of water from wet but sparsely populated places (a.k.a. East Texas) to thirsty, booming cities. Good thing there’s a plan for that. There is a plan, right?

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Texas History|
January 21, 2013

When the Sky Ran Dry

Bad as the current drought is, it has yet to match the most arid spell in Texas history. Nearly two dozen survivors of the fifties drought remember the time it never rained.

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Editor's Letter|
January 21, 2013

The Truth About Texas: Water = Life

As last year’s historic drought reminded us, Texas has always lived life by the drop, just a few dry years away from a serious crisis. With our population expected to nearly double over the next fifty years, this situation is about to become more, not less, challenging. This month we

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Editor's Letter|
January 21, 2013

Dry, the Beloved Country

The first serious coverage of water in TEXAS MONTHLY came just a couple months shy of our two-year anniversary, in a story by Greg Curtis entitled “Disaster, Part I. Lubbock is running out of water.” (A companion piece, “Disaster, Part II,” argued that Houston was sinking into

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Letter from Matagorda County|
March 31, 2012

A Grain of Doubt

For more than 75 years, rice farmers in Matagorda County and elsewhere along the Gulf have shared the waters of the Colorado River with urban residents in the Hill Country. But with city centers booming and an almost-certain drought ahead, the state is being forced to choose between a water-intensive

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Web Exclusive|
August 31, 2011

A Q&A With Kate Galbraith

The Texas Tribune reporter on writing about the drought, learning about landscaping trends in Midland, and recognizing just how precious water is.

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Letter From Midland|
August 31, 2011

Blame It on No Rain

As the drought tightens its grip on Texas, its effects are being felt everywhere, from rivers to reservoirs to the formerly verdant lawns of Midland.

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Web Exclusive|
February 1, 2008

Toilet Tales

In summer months, Houstonians are drinking ice cold . . . toilet water. Courtesy of Dallas.

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Feature|
February 1, 2008

The Last Drop

Texas has the country’s most precise state water plan. So how is it that every one of our major cities is still on track to run dry in the next fifty years?

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