Texas
Texas Water Board details how it will spend $1 billion for water infrastructure projects
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ODESSA — Texas last week began dividing $1 billion in taxpayer approved money among different types of water infrastructure and supply projects.
Most of the money will go toward low-interest loan programs to help cities and water systems upgrade drinking water systems and water conservation projects.
At least $45 million will be reserved for communities with fewer than 1,000 residents. And about $130 million will go to towns with 1,001 and 10,000 residents. The Texas Water Development Board, the agency responsible for the state’s water supply and managing this money, also set aside $20 million for high-risk projects.
Texas is losing billions of gallons of water each year due to outdated water infrastructure. Smaller rural towns that lack a taxbase are particularly behind in updating their pipes and valves. State lawmakers in 2023 asked voters to approve the $1 billion to help municipalities fix broken pipes.
While water advocates are excited for the $1 billion to begin flowing to local water systems, it will not be enough to solve the state’s water woes.
The water board said the state will have to spend $80 billion by 2070 to keep its infrastructure up-to-date, according to the 2022 water plan.
[Everything you need to know about Texas’ beleaguered water systems]
“We have a whole lot more applications that are submitted than we have capacity in any given program year to provide financial assistance,” said Kathleen Ligon, the interim executive administrator at the Water Development Board.
The water board said this week it also plans to spend up to $450 million toward existing financial assistance programs, $90 million on water loss and conservation programs, $10 million on marketing campaigns and $5 million on “educational resources and programming, data visualization tools and other initiatives” that schools can access.
The water board has already received 68 requests from cities and local water systems for this pot of money, which will be combined with existing state and federal tax dollars. The projects selected for the money will be announced in August. The board has set aside $250 million for another round of applications. It has not pushed rules on how to apply for that pool of money yet.
Communities can expect to see improvements to their systems from this new money in about a year, said Terry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network, a trade association representing public and private construction companies.
Securing workers and contractors will be a challenge for communities seeking to improve their water infrastructure, he said. Cities, counties and water districts should have a clear idea of the projects they hope to propose.
“It’s a very busy market, we have a lot of projects going on, there’s a lot of backlog,” he said.
Fowler said he hopes lawmakers find additional ways to pay for water infrastructure projects in the next legislative session, including promoting more loan based programs whose interest could go toward the Water Development Board. He said he thinks eventually, the cost of keeping up with the infrastructure will be foot by consumers.
“I think that Texans need to understand that just because of the way things are going with our water supply and infrastructure issues, your water bills are going to increase,” he said.
Big news: director and screenwriter Richard Linklater; NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher; U.S. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-California; and Luci Baines Johnson will take the stage at The Texas Tribune Festival, Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Buy tickets today!
College Football Playoff rankings set stage for rivalry week
College Football Playoff rankings reveal clear favorites as teams gear up for rivalry week before championship weekend.
Texas football welcomed Mike Elko to his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day on Black Friday.
As the Longhorns took the final kneels to secure a 27-17 win over Texas A&M to knock the Aggies out of the land of unbeaten college football teams, the video board at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas trolled Elko.
Texas played a short clip of Elko calling Texas A&M “the flagship program of the state” last year, with a voiceover saying “Sike” about his comments. That was met by loud cheers from the fans as Texas earned the win.
It only got worse for Elko from there. Following the loss, he lost his cool during his press conference over the noise of the Longhorns celebrating their win over the Aggies.
The loss for Texas A&M knocked to rival Texas knocked it out of the SEC Championship game.
“Can we close the door and run a professional press conference?” Elko asked mid-answer.
The good news for Elko and the Aggies: They closed out the season with an 11-1 record, including a 7-1 record in SEC play. Texas A&M has secured a spot in the College Football Playoff and, barring a major upset, should at least have a home first-round game, if not a bye in the opening round.
The North Texas Mean Green (10-1) looks for a program-record 11th win and a spot in the American championship game on Friday afternoon when they host a Temple Owls (5-6) squad still trying to become bowl eligible after three straight losses.
How to Watch Temple vs North Texas
- When: Friday, November 28, 2025
- Time: 3:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: Fubo (try for free)
North Texas won its fifth straight game on Saturday night, rolling to a 56-24 road victory at Rice after erasing an early 14-0 deficit. Drew Mestemaker threw for 469 yards, finishing 19-of-23 with three touchdowns, and also ran for a score. Caleb Hawkins ran for 97 yards and three TDs on 20 carries, and Ashton Gray also had a rushing touchdown. Wyatt Young had a huge night with eight catches for 295 yards and two scores, and Tre Williams III caught a TD pass.
Temple’s slide continued on Saturday with a 37-13 loss to visiting Tulane. Evan Simon threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns, but the running game was limited to just 20 yards. Colin Chase and Peter Clarke made scoring catches in the loss. Simon absorbed four sacks before he was pulled from the game.
Eric Morris was announced on Tuesday as the new head coach at Oklahoma State and will leave North Texas at the end of the season. The Mean Green haven’t won a conference title since the 2004 Sun Belt championship and have a simple win-and-in scenario to reach the American championship game. They are 2-0 all-time against Temple, including a 24-17 road win on Nov. 30.
This is a great college football matchup that you will not want to miss; make sure to tune in and catch all the action.
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TEXAS (KTRK) — The State Comptroller’s Office has released guidelines for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts. This program is also referred to as school choice or school vouchers, and has stirred up controversy.
It’s funded through $1B taxpayer dollars, and while proponents say it gives families the choice to pick the best education for their child, critics have said it takes money away from already underfunded and struggling public school systems.
This program is open to students in pre-K through high school. Standard students who wish to attend a state-approved private school can receive approximately $10,800 per child, per year.
Students with disabilities or additional learning needs must have their individual education program, or IEP, on file with the school district to be eligible for up to $30,000 per student, per year
And homeschooled children can get up to $2,000 per child, per year.
SEE ALSO: Private school vouchers are now law in Texas. Here’s how they will work
State law dictates that priority will be given to children who have siblings already in the program and based on income and the federal poverty line. If more students enroll than funding allows, a lottery will be instituted.
Eyewitness News previously reported that the funds would probably fund around 90,000 students, even though the Texas Education Agency estimated in 2024 that over 5 million school-aged children live in Texas.
The first important enrollment date comes for private schools and vendors who want to accept voucher students, and is part of the one billion dollars the state is pouring into it. The State Comptroller’s office says schools and vendors can start signing on through Odyssey on Dec. 9. Odyssey is the company the state selected to run the voucher lottery and operate a platform that allows families to spend the money awarded to them by the state.
The second important date comes for families, which is Feb. 4. That’s when families can start signing up students. The State Comptroller said this gives the state and families ample time to make decisions ahead of the 2026-27 school year
The State Comptroller said schools that wish to apply for the program must have a Texas location and have been accredited for at least two years, but this applies to schools both in and outside of Texas, so in theory, a program accredited outside of Texas could build a campus in the state this year and still be eligible.
SEE ALSO: ABC13 obtains exclusive HISD student enrollment records for 2025-26 school year
The state is also dictating that private schools wishing to be a part of the program will have to administer an assessment to voucher students in grades 3 through 12
The program will be monitored by the State Comptroller’s office, which will partner with a private group to audit the program at least once a year.
State education groups pushed the state to be more transparent about how families were spending money and where, though our partners at the Houston Chronicle note the state rejected those ideas.
For more news updates, follow Lileana Pearson on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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