Two of our members did Texas proud in interviews by national trade publications. Eva Steinle-Darling discussed new approaches to DPR, and advances in membrane and treatment technology, on WaterWorld Magazine’s The Drop. Rhonda Harris was featured on the cover of Treatment Plant Operator as a Trainer Extraordinaire, detailing her career journey, including a stint as 1998-99 WEF President.

The Texas Water Development Board is still seeking feedback on their Regional and state flood planning rules and flood planning regions - TWDB was tasked by the 86th Legislature with an expanded role in flood planning and relief, and has proposed 11 new watershed-based flood planning regions. Comments on the proposed regional rules are due by February 3, 2020.

Upper Trinity Regional Water District has been recognized by NACWA for their innovative magnetite ballasted activated sludge process at their Riverbend WRP. UTRWD upgraded the Riverbend plant’s process as part of their most recent expansion, and has seen both increased capacity and accelerated clarification of their effluent stream as a result of the change.

The Texas General Land Office (GLO) has amended their agreement with Houston-based Layne Water Midstream (LWM) that will see LWM gain new exclusive rights to treat, reuse, and dispose of produced water from extraction activity on the GLO’s 88,000 acres of land in Reeves and Culberson Counties.

The National Law Review has a concise rundown of what water bodies have seen their legal status change under the proposed new “Navigable Waters Protection Rule.”