Desertification is getting real. Especially if you’re west and north of the Brazos Valley. https://www.expressnews.com/projects/2025/texas-precipitation-tracker/
This is a start, but Texas will need quite a few more of these projects to get past what is coming. Corpus Christi Moves Ahead with Desalination Plant (Jan 2025) The City of Corpus Christi is turning to the Gulf of Mexico for a solution to its water shortage. The city announced in October it will move forward with what could be the state’s first municipal ocean desalination project. In an October media release, it was announced the evaluation committee had completed its review of the three city council-approved proposers for delivery of the 30-million-gallon-per-day Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Treatment Plant Project. Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. came out on top. Construction is expected to be completed by late 2027 or early 2028. Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., a privately-owned company based in Westlake, Texas, was created in 1969 by the 140-year-old Kiewit Corporation for delivery of complex water/wastewater treatment projects. Kiewit employs over 1,600 personnel at their 400-acre fabrication and laydown yard in Ingleside, Texas. The parent company has had experience in the design and construction of desalination plants elsewhere in the United States. The Corpus Christi desalination plant is part of a $1 billion strategy agreed to by the state senate in 2023 to triple the Texas water supply by 2033 by building new water projects and repairing aging infrastructure. Currently, the city supplies water to half a million people by relying on surface water from four sources. All four surface water sources are solely dependent on rainfall and are purified at a single water treatment facility which treats about 25 billion gallons of water each year. “Corpus Christi Water (CCW) has researched several water sources, including treated wastewater effluent reuse, aquifer storage and recovery, groundwater, surface water, and seawater desalination,” the city says. However, conventional surface water sources are finite and require further treatment in the city’s sole treatment plant. The advantage of seawater is that it is drought-proof and introduces a new supply and additional source of treatment plant to purify the water for distribution to customers. The desalination plant will be located beside the Inner Harbor ship channel linking the Port of Corpus Christi to the Gulf of Mexico and would draw and discharge into the channel. Desalination is a relatively costly process and requires significant energy. The Texas Water Development Board estimates the average cost to produce about 326,000 gallons (one acre-foot) of desalinated water from seawater ranges from approximately $800 to about $1,400, versus a cost of approximately $350 to $800 to produce that same volume from brackish groundwater. Desalination can also potentially disturb the environment both when the plant takes in water and when it discharges brine. However, an environmental report tabled by the city in 2021 stated there would be a “negligible impact to Corpus Christi Bay and aquatic life,” assuming the utilization of proven methodologies. Water shortages have been acute in Corpus Christi as the heat in the area becomes more extreme. This past spring, the city put Stage 2 restrictions into place which, among other things, permitted landscape watering only once every two weeks. However large industrial users such as refineries and plastics factories, users of 50 per cent of the municipal water, were not restricted, drawing the ire of citizens. Even with the desalination plant in operation in 2028, water rates for citizens could jump by 50 percent in the next five years, according to a report made to Corpus Christi City Council last January. In fact, in September wastewater rate increases of 9.0 percent effective this month were announced. One local resident complained to a public meeting that he thought industry would get the desalinated water but that city residents would have to pay for it. “The City of Corpus Christi needs to understand that water is what is needed by the community — not by industrial factories.” In response, Drew Molly, the chief operating officer for Corpus Christi Water, admitted local industries do use a lot of water. According to a city media release, low-interest loans were obtained from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) for this project beginning in 2017. Over the years, the SWIFT program has resulted in board commitments of nearly $11.5 billion to fund implementation of recommended water management strategy projects within the state’s water plan. In 2020, SWIFT had previously awarded Corpus Christi $222 million to build a desalination plant when plans foresaw a 20 million gallon per day facility. That daily yield has been increased now to 30 million. In July 2024, the Texas Water Development Board, under its SWIFT program, approved a further $535 million in multi-year financing for the Corpus Christi desalination treatment plant. The city says CCW will also compete for another source of funds from SWIFT and a federal grant from the United States Bureau of Reclamation
the difference from houston to the austin area is pretty significant for a 3 hours drive. The greenery and quite literally the softness of the ground makes me feel happier/more at ease.
Wildfires can be a b****. I truly hope assholes won't gleefully gloat at this part of the country's misfortune.
Meh. Why should I want my tax dollars going to Houston every time it floods? -- the rest of Texas See how dumb that sounds?
This is where we are No one gives a **** about anyone else Mostly they are hoping we die . . .so they can keep all the money and maybe now its time to treat them like they treat us Rocket River BTW It was more sarcasm than anything but hey . .. .
Weather, prices, costs take toll on Texas corn (October 2024) Corn yields are down this year due to drought, hurricanes, extreme temperatures, and a lack of available irrigation water. A combination of low prices, high input costs and marginal or worse yields will mean a lot of soul searching as Texas corn farmers begin to make plans for 2025. “Farmer optimism is at the lowest point I’ve seen in many years,” says Texas Corn Producers Executive Director David Gibson, Lubbock. “This year has taken a toll. Low prices, high input costs, no farm bill in place, and reduced yields create the biggest challenge producers who didn’t farm in the ‘80s have ever seen. If prices stay in the current range, we will see a big hole in the heartland.” Gibson says drought along the Red River and down to Dallas and into the Lower Rio Grande Valley reduced production. “Very few places made normal yields. Some farmers in South Texas also had hurricane and tropical storm damage. South Texas had two consecutive years of drought. Some got insurance money, paid what they could, and are still in a hole. “West Texas has been hot. Some producers in the Northern Plains, the northern two tiers of counties, caught some rain, but it didn’t get any further. A few farmers made surprisingly good yields; the state, overall, made barely average to below average corn yields.” Water woes Water issues in the High Plains pose continuing hardships. “The Ogallala Aquifer has declined significantly,” Gibson says. “I’ve watched it for as long as I’ve lived out here and have seen a gradual decline for the last 20-plus years. 2011 highlighted the issue with a drastic drawdown, which affected how farmers grow crops. “They have cut back acreage, improved management, added technology, and spread acreage to make the most of limited water. Today, we see a lot of unused pivots across the High Plains because we do not have enough water to run them. Drip irrigation and reduced acreage help some. A lot of acreage has gone into cotton production.” Grain to silage Gibson says many High Plains corn growers have switched from grain to silage to accommodate the dairy industry. “Dairies added to the silage demand, along with feed lots. Now, 60% of the corn acreage is harvested for silage. That’s a big difference from five to 10 years back. Silage yields are also down.” On top of reduced production, corn farmers are looking at prices below profit. “At one time, $4 corn was a good price,” Gibson says. “Now, considering the general cost of production plus land payments, producers need upper $4 to lower $5 per bushel prices. $4.25 is not working. Challenging times “That’s our challenge as we look to 2025. We’re set up for challenging times,” he says. “Refinancing next year will be a challenge for many producers.” Gibson says one of the main goals for Texas farmers is maintaining the farm to allow their children to take over. “These situations have happened before,” he says. “The difference now is that we do not have enough water in much of Texas to come out of it. Some farmers bought land, irrigated land, and it is difficult to pay for land in the current environment. Those who have not bought land or have paid it off face a little less adversity.” Gibson says costs continue to climb. “We’re not seeing a break in fertilizer prices, and hurricanes caused some disruption in phosphate production.” Gibson says he doesn’t like to come across as completely depressing and believes in the resiliency of Texas farmers. “Farmers, in general, are eternal optimists,” he says. “They remember hard times and understand that they will happen. So, they look for new and improved ways to farm. We’ve seen them adopt improved technology, which might be costly but lowers the need for labor, which is hard to find.” He adds that even in a terrible year, some Texas corn growers made 80 bushels per acre of non-irrigated corn. “That’s not great, but improved seed technology makes it possible to harvest a crop. At one time, with these conditions, they would have made nothing.” Producers continue to figure out how to be more efficient, he says. “It requires a lot of deep soul searching and a willingness to make changes. “Farmers are becoming more frugal with water. They use what they can to make the farm work more economically and increase the time they have water available. Many are using new tools to convert to dryland or use water more strategically.” He says the farm industry needs immediate help from Washington, including a new farm bill and economic relief now.
Courtesy of Jeff Lindner this evening: Significant wildfire ongoing in southern San Jacinto and extreme northeast Montgomery County. A wildfire began around 330pm this afternoon off Pauline Rd in San Jacinto County and has rapid expanded to 1,200 acres in the last 4 hours with 10% containment. The fire has shown extensive burn rates in heavy pine fuels and short crown runs in the pine canopy which has increased the forward speed of the fire amid 20-30mph winds this afternoon. Images at times have shown well defined pyrocumulus clouds above the fire suggesting this is a very hot and well maintained wildfire which may be altering the micro-weather climate immediately around the fire with varying and fluctuating wind speeds and directions. Numerous fire departments from San Jacinto, Montgomery, and Liberty Counties are currently working this fire and structure protection along with TFS resources and air assets. Evacuations are in place along Lee Turner Rd and residents north of HWY 105 in Montgomery County in the Peach Creek Plantation and Fostoria area should be prepared to evacuate. A significant smoke plume has been generated by this fire and is blowing downstream over much of Liberty and northeast Harris Counties. Winds will only slowly decrease this evening and may increase again around midnight into Thursday morning as a 35-45kt low level jet moves over the region. Northerly winds tonight in the 10-20mph will continue. Extremely low humidity values in the 10% will recover into the 40% range tonight (which is still low for our local standards). In the last 2 hours the wind has shifted more out of the north which has pushed the fire more southward than east and southeast earlier this afternoon and evening. Winds will continue from a more northerly direction for much of the night. Elevated to near critical fire weather conditions will be in place again on Thursday…and given the fire behavior today…medium and larger fuels are becoming increasingly ready to burn which will result in fires that are much harder to control and contain. Absolutely no activities that can start a fire should be conducted until the fire landscape improves significantly.
At the very bottom at this story - writeup. Wildfire in San Jacinto Co. grows to 1,300 acres, 10% contained | Several evacuations in place ...According to the San Jacinto County Office of Emergency Management, a controlled burn was being performed by a landowner. They said it was supposed to be a 60-acre fire. It's unclear if that's the fire that sparked the wildfire. The fire was so strong that the heat signal was picked up on radar and satellite imagery. ______________________________________ San Jacinto County Office of Emergency Management 12h · 3/19/25 An additional 60 acre controlled burn, by landowner. Continuing burn today San Jacinto County 30 25.18, -95 17.19 60 acres/ understory
I get the need for controlled burns and all, but ffs this isn’t the time to do that. It’s not that hard to get weather information daily. It’s inexcusable
This map Texas Counties has the counties with Burn Bans in Red and those without Burn Bans in White. It isn't a perfect match to what you mentioned in the OP about the areas West and North of the Brazos Valley, but it is quite close to that from Waco --> Southward. Still, the TV weather folks have been talking about High Winds for several, so a clear mistake was made to allow any type of controlled burn even if the Burn of the 60 acres was not a cause of the larger firer that is now being fought.
No idea what the hell they were thinking and doing in San Jac County, but up here the policies and processes are different.
So far, the Media has been fuzzy on exactly which level of officials signed off on The Plan and agreed to let the landowner do the Controlled Burn on the 60 acres. At times it appears it was a local decision done in San Jacinto County and at other times it appears that Texas A&M Forest Service was relied upon to make the final decision. In theory, the Texas A&M Forest Service is supposed to be able to make better decisions than County Officials about these things in - near wooded areas (Sam Houston National Forest) such as in San Jacinto County.
Not really important, but why is it Texas A&M Forest Service. Why not just Texas Forest Service or Texas Department of Forestry like every other state?
More importantly, this is the coolest five-year period of the rest of our lives, unless you are really young and we get our act together quickly. So yeah, this is the coolest five-year period of our lives.
Because A&M is a State School, and the Forest Service, and much of the other rural programs, are run through that massive part of the School. And they're good at it. These guys are amazingly helpful, got an office in most all counties: https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/
And despite the best intentions, things can get out of control "Crabapple Fire" ~10K acres, now mostly contained 20 miles NE of Fredericksburg https://share.watchduty.org/i/43930?ts=1742512465000
