Environment

San Antonio Water System officials are in talks to find a supply of water in addition to the Edwards Aquifer to meet growth demands over the next few decades.

The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce has joined the discussion with a new study, the Impact of Potential Water Shortages on San Antonio’s Economy, which illustrates the link between long-term water needs and San Antonio’s economy.

The San Antonio River Authority is inviting members of the community who are interested in watershed preservation to join its new volunteer program "Watershed Wise Warriors."

The call is going out for volunteers in the counties of Bexar, Wilson, Karnes and Goliad. It’s the first time SARA has called for an ongoing volunteer bank for its activities. Spokesman Steven Schauer said the "warriors" are needed for the not-so-sexy jobs.

A report out this week contradicts information put out by the Public Utility Commission that the state  does not have sufficient energy reserves and is in need of changing to a capacity market model.

The smartest minds are in town energized about new technology and the changing world of energy production and consumption.

This year's DistribuTech conference is in San Antonio and is helping change the future of the energy industry.

Inside the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, leaders from the world's largest energy companies are busy talking about the latest and greatest in power transmission. The buzz is overwhelming, but really what It's really all about is how energy companies are updating their systems to better serve customers.

A tentative buyer has declined to purchase the property -- known as Crescent Hills -- adjacent to the Bracken Bat Cave and now a coalition of potential buyers is hoping to acquire the land to preserve it.

The coalition is a loosely-knit group of people and organizations who want to see the land surrounding the bat cave permanently preserved instead of being open for development of houses and commercial activity.

One of the interested parties is San Antonio District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg.

The South Texas oil and natural gas drilling boom in the Eagle Ford Shale will continue to impact Texas and its local communities in a big way in 2014, but the boom may have already seen its largest single-year growth.

Every year the University of Texas at San Antonio studies how the Eagle Ford Shale has affected the small Texas towns where production is happening. The report takes into account both the positives and negatives of the growth.

A new solar farm on the far South Side of San Antonio is now generating electricity for CPS energy.

Just south of loop 410  on Blue Wing Road is a newly built solar farm called Alamo 1. At 453 acres it’s the size 300 foot ball field and can generate enough energy to power 6,600 homes. It’s 167,00 solar panels went online last week, generating 40 megawatts - it’s the first phase of what will be a 400 megawatt project.

In a rare move for this time of year, the Edwards Aquifer Authority has declared Stage 3 water restrictions.

SAWS customers need not worry. A spokesperson tells TPR there is enough reserve water on hand at its Carrizo Aquifer storage site in southern Bexar County to not impose restrictions on its customers. But, SAWS itself will have to reduce its pumping out of the Edwards Aquifer by 35 percent.

SAWS, along with small municipalities like Universal City and Alamo Heights, are permit holders of the EAA. SAWS happens to be the largest permit holder.

The U.S. Supreme Court is examining whether the Environmental Protection Agency overreached its authority with its regulations on cross-state pollution, but environmental groups in Texas say the EPA is simply operating within the confines of the Clean Air Act.

United States Supreme Court Justices heard oral arguments on Tuesday regarding a case that alleges the EPA overreached its authority by issuing regulations for pollution that drifts into states bordering one another.