Latest News

Natural Resources Committee Hears GEAA’s Top Bill

March 18, 2009

The House Natural Resources Committee met yesterday to hear comments about HB 595 and HB 1508, among others. Several GEAA members and supporters came to speak in support of these bills – thank you! If you’d like to see a recording of yesterday’s hearing, go to the Natural Resource Committee’s archived broadcasts and click on the broadcast listed for 3/17/09, starting at 12:06 pm. For a list of relevant bills considered at yesterday’s meeting, read below: HB 595: Leibowitz/Rodriguez – Relating to a restriction on permits authorizing discharges of sewage effluent into any water in the contributing or recharge zone of

HaysCan News Roundup

March 13, 2009

Growth in Hays County is straining our roads, open spaces and water supply. Citizens are demanding intelligent, honest planning for future growth and special interests are jockeying for influence and a stake in the lucrative development bonanza. The RoundUp invites you to tune in as we will be presenting the “healthy skeptic’s view,” digging below the spin and uncovering the truth behind the votes and decisions of our local government decision makers. Read more here.

GEAA asks Legislature to Take Action to Protect Water & the Hill Country

March 12, 2009

When: Wednesday, January 14th at 1:30 p.m. Where: on the South Steps of the State Capitol What: Leaders of the 45 member groups of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (representing 25,000 Texans in 19 Counties) go to the State Capitol to advocate their legislative agenda. Citizens from throughout the Texas Hill Country are concerned about the impacts of high-density development on our water resources – both in terms of the quantity of water available and the quality of our groundwater. The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA), working with our member and the region’s elected officials has crafted a legislative agenda that

Rep. Leibowitz Files Bill to Prohibit Discharge of Sewage Effluent into Edwards Aquifer Waterways

March 12, 2009

“I filed H.B. 595 because the 1.7 million Texans whose source of drinking water is the Edwards Aquifer should not have to worry about treated sewage contaminating their water,” said Leibowitz. “In 2007, the Helotes debris fire contaminated wells near the aquifer when water was applied to the fire for just a few short days. Now, there’s a proposal to pour up to 1 million gallons of treated sewage each day into a creek that directly feeds the Edwards Aquifer. That’s just unacceptable.” The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, the Alamo Soil and Conservation District, the cities of San Antonio and Austin,

GEAA Enlists Your Help with Warbler Watch Program

March 12, 2009

To help implement the proposed “Warbler Watch” program for the Texas Hill Country, GEAA recently established a partnership with Texas A&M University (TAMU) researchers. The goal of this collaborative program is to develop and implement a long-term and sustainable monitoring program, which will determine trends in distribution, abundance, habitat use, and breeding success of the GCWA across its breeding range. We propose to integrate with and expand upon comprehensive GCWA studies initiated by TAMU in 2003, which were enlarged to include a range-wide monitoring program during 2008. GEAA would help recruit volunteers and landowners, and distribute related educational materials to a

Watch Texas: State of Flowing Water on-line

March 12, 2009

Did you miss Texas Parks and Wildlife’s documentary, Texas: The State of Flowing Water? Don’t worry! You can watch the full show online. Explore the threats facing Texas water and learn what can be done to help. Watch the video here. Watch the show now, at www.texasthestateofwater.org for more information.