Water

As a heatwave approaches Lubbock, The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center warns about the risk of dehydration. Our Riley Wilson reports on what to look out for. People who claim the popular weedkiller Roundup caused their cancer now have fewer legal options after the Supreme Court sided with the product’s manufacturer last month. Harvest Public Media’s Jess Savage explains the ruling overturns an earlier decision from a Missouri court.

Lake Meredith, near Amarillo is a municipal water source for eleven cities, including Lubbock. Last month it was designated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as “fully infested” with invasive zebra mussels. Our Samantha Larned reports the mussels are known to impact infrastructure, such as pipes used for water treatment.

Lake Meredith, near Amarillo, was recently designated as “fully infested” with invasive zebra mussels. The mussels have been spreading across Texas for more than 15 years and Lake Meredith is the north-most body of water in the state to be infected. TPWD says the mussels have the potential to damage treatment equipment in what is a municipal water source for the region, but water officials with the lake say they're prepared.

In some parts of Kansas, groundwater is polluted with enough nitrates that it can fulfill some of the fertilizing needs for farmers.

On July 7, the City of Lubbock hosted a public meeting to hear residents’ thoughts and concerns about large-scale data centers. As city officials try to balance the potential benefits with the risks, a majority of the approximately 70 members of the public who spoke at the meeting were against allowing data centers in the city.

Data centers use water to cool their massive arrays of computer servers. A state agency sent out a survey to figure out how much, but less than a third of the companies responded.

Ag Commissioner Sid Miller has proposed a temporary moratorium on data center development.

Facing limited options, oil industry turns to AI to handle wastewater from oil production. Producers discovered other uses to streamline the process.

Authorities in Sinton won't confirm or deny Corpus Christi's suggestion that the small town is hoarding its precious groundwater for data centers. Across Texas, a booming buildout of server farms is adding strain to water resources that are already stretched to their limit.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation yesterday into nearly 30 school districts, including Lubbock ISD, regarding Texas’ Senate Bills 10 and 11. Lubbock ISD released a statement saying it is in compliance with both state laws. A recent report from the University of Texas at Austin revealed that data centers could potentially account for 3-9 percent of the Texas' water use by 2040. KEDT's Rob Boscamp reports they currently represent less than 1%.