Texas Drought Visible in New National Groundwater Maps

Monday, 16 January 2012 17:41

By Kelly Helm Smith (National Drought Mitigation Center) and Adam Voiland (NASA’s Earth Science News Team), NASA, 11/30/2011

The record-breaking drought in Texas that has fueled wildfires, decimated crops, and forced cattle sales has also reduced levels of groundwater in much of the state to the lowest levels seen in more than sixty years, according to new national maps produced by NASA and distributed by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

New groundwater and soil moisture drought indicator maps produced by NASA are available on the National Drought Mitigation Center's website. They currently show unusually low groundwater storage levels in Texas. The maps use an 11-division scale, with blues showing wetter than normal conditions and a yellow-to-red spectrum showing drier than normal conditions (Credit: NASA/National Drought Mitigation Center). The latest groundwater map, released on November 29, shows large patches of maroon over eastern Texas, indicating severely depressed groundwater levels. The maps, generated weekly by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., are publicly available on the Drought Center's website.

TCEQ Occupational Licensing Exam Day Procedures

Monday, 12 December 2011 16:37

Effective January 1, 2012, the TCEQ Central Office located at 12100 Park 35 Circle in Austin, Texas, will no longer accept walk-in applicants on the day of the exam.

In August, 2011, TCEQ Central Office implemented an online exam registration process for all applicants to pre-register for the exam sessions held at the Austin location. This was done to facilitate registration on exam day and to minimize the number of applicants turned away at each session due to over-crowding in the examination rooms.

The Central Office offers exams on the second Monday of each month. There is a morning session at 8:30am and an afternoon session at 1:30pm. Along with those sessions, there is an 8:30am session for those applicants pre-approved to sit for the Water and Wastewater ‘A’ exams.

Currently, walk-in applicants are allowed, on a first come-first served basis, as room allows. Since the implementation of the online registrations, however, this has become more difficult to maintain as staff must wait to make sure all pre-registered applicants are seated before walk-in applicants.

We encourage all applicants wishing to take their exam at the Austin Central Office to register online at http://www.tceq.texas.gov/licensing under the Exam Schedules and Registration page. If you have any questions regarding this process, contact the Occupational Licensing Section at (512) 239-6133.

U.S. Probes Cyber Attack on Water System

Monday, 21 November 2011 16:36

By Jim Finkle, Reuters, 11/21/2011 10:28 AM

Federal investigators are looking into a report that hackers managed to remotely shut down a utility's water pump in central Illinois last week, in what could be the first known foreign cyber attack on a U.S. industrial system.

The November 8 incident was described in a one-page report from the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center, according to Joe Weiss, a prominent expert on protecting infrastructure from cyber attacks.

The attackers obtained access to the network of a water utility in a rural community west of the state capital Springfield with credentials stolen from a company that makes software used to control industrial systems, according to the account obtained by Weiss. It did not explain the motive of the attackers.

He said that the same group may have attacked other industrial targets or be planning strikes using credentials stolen from the same software maker.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are examining the matter, said DHS spokesman Peter Boogaard.

"At this time there is no credible corroborated data that indicates a risk to critical infrastructure entities or a threat to public safety," he said, declining to elaborate further. An FBI spokesman in Illinois did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Texas Manhole Accident

Tuesday, 08 November 2011 17:51

"Body of second man found in Fairview sewer accident"

By Conner Hammett, Star Local News, 11/04/2011 7:30 PM

Rescuers have recovered the body of a man who went missing Thursday after a fatal sewer line accident in Fairview.

The man, whose identity has not yet been released at the family's request, was found around 12:15 p.m. Friday in a water pit near the entrance to the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) sanitation building on Orr Road in Lucas. His body was recovered by commercial divers and Fairview fire personnel shortly before 4 p.m. later that day.

The initial accident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday in the Thompson Springs development of Fairview. Three men were working to remove a plug from a NTMWD sewer line when one man entered a manhole and was overcome by toxic gas, rendering him unconscious. A second man returned from retrieving a rope to find another worker unconscious in the manhole and the first man missing.

Rescuers arrived minutes later and were able to recover the body of Jeronimo Cruz, 44 of Arlington, but were unable to locate the missing man until Friday. Both victims were employees of S.J. Louis Construction, a contractor hired by the NTMWD to perform work on the line.

Rainwater Harvesting

Wednesday, 02 November 2011 17:55

By Russell Hamilton, Executive Director

For years people have been collecting and using rainwater for irrigation purposes and as a potable water source. The last legislative session passed laws that allow for individuals to construct systems and utilize rainwater as a source for potable water even within the jurisdiction of a city or Public Water Supply (PWS).

TCEQ is currently accepting comments regarding rainwater harvesting. All comments should be directed in the form of an email to Cindy Haynie – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Concerns might be that when you have a known water supply connected to an unknown water supply you have by definition a cross connection. Proponents of rainwater harvesting take the stance that a rainwater harvesting system should be considered no different than a private well. Counter to this line of thinking is that typically in a rural setting, if a house or business has a private well they are not also connected to a Public Water Supply (PWS).

Sample Videos

Apply Now!

Membership Benefits

Learn More

Update your info with TWUA!

Don't let your membership expire because we can't contact you! Login now to update your info.

Texas Drought Visible in New National Groundwater Maps

TCEQ Occupational Licensing Exam Day Procedures

U.S. Probes Cyber Attack on Water System

Texas Manhole Accident

Rainwater Harvesting

TWUA Survey

We want to hear from you!

Annual School

March 5-7, 2012

Learn more!

Hotel - Registration

Award Nomination