TGR NEWS - November 2025
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This TGR Resource newsletter was published in November, 2025
La Niña is On Its Way
TGR District remains in Stage 3 drought restrictions
As the La Niña weather pattern makes its presence felt in the United States, national forecasters have released new predictions about how this climate pattern will shape our weather through the next three months.
The Climate Prediction Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), recently published its seasonal outlook for November 2025 through January 2026.
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Across much of the country — especially the South and Southwest — temperatures are projected to be milder weather compared to typical seasonal averages through the start of the new year. Additionally, below-average rainfall is expected across the southern tier of U.S. That could spell trouble for areas already suffering from drought. Large parts of the South and Southwest are currently classified as being in “severe” to “extreme” drought. Some of these regions, which includes Bexar County and the Texas Hill Country, depend heavily on winter rainfall to recharge their water supplies.
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Typical La Niña winter impacts include additional precipitation for the Northwest and Midwest to the Ohio Valley and colder than normal temperatures across the north-central U.S. The Southern U.S. experiences drier conditions and warmer temperatures.
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You can read an extended story here about the cyclical La Niña weather pattern and what its impacts for winter 2025-2026 will be across the country.
TGR Board Approves Rules Updates
The TGR Board of Directors held a public hearing in October on amendments to its District Rules for improved management of the Trinity Aquifer and approved those changes.
“The rules updates will help us better align our work with the region's water planning outlook as developed by the State of Texas,” said TGR General Manager Amanda Maloukis. “The changes to the Rules also set us up for improved practices to be better stewards of the Trinity Aquifer as we develop long term goals for groundwater management designed to protect our groundwater resources for future generations.”
Highlights of the changes include, statutorily required changes made by the most recent 89th Texas Legislature, as well as criteria for water wells on small tracts that maintain groundwater production in relation to their limited property right acreage, in order to protect neighboring wells, property rights, and aquifers, without requiring well permits, meters, nor production fees. You can read and download a copy of the Trinity Glen Rose District’s Rules at this link.
Texas Voters Approve $20 Billion Water Resources Development Plan
With the population projections for Texas continuing to surge, state leaders put a major water planning and investment program on the ballot in early November which would address potential water shortages over the coming decades. With a 71 percent approval, voters across the state gave the go ahead for that $20 billion plan to invest in the State’s water infrastructure.
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Beginning in 2027, $1 billion per year in sales tax revenue will go toward the Texas Water Fund. That money will be used for developing new water sources, repairing existing infrastructure and flood control projects.
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“Texas is facing more than $200 billion in wastewater and flood infrastructure needs in the next 50 years,” Sarah Kirkle, the director of policy and legislative affairs at the Texas Water Association, said. “So this $20 billion is a really important first step.”
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The first round of the new funding, a total of $2 billion per biennium, will have to be appropriated by the legislature in the 90th legislative session, which will take place in 2027. Once approved, the Texas Comptroller will transfer the dedicated funds to the water fund in 2028.
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The funds can only be transferred if the sales tax revenue exceeds $46.5 billion in a single fiscal year. If the revenue does not reach that threshold, then no money will be transferred to the Water Fund.
Today, Texas is home to about 31 million people. By 2070, that number is expected to expand to 50 million. You can read much more about the Texas Water Fund at this website.
Water News from Around the State
TWDB to Hold Water Project Funding Meetings
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) is inviting people to an in-person workshop with valuable information and one-on-one opportunities to discuss regional water project needs. The TWDB program coordinators will be available at the workshop to discuss specific projects and answer questions about financial assistance programs for drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and flood infrastructure projects. Funding Programs include: the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT), Texas Water Development Fund (DFund), Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF), Texas Water Fund, and more.
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The workshop will include handouts and helpful resources about the TWDB financial assistance programs. Here is a list of meetings being held in the South Texas area.
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Medina County - Hondo, 11/20/25
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Uvalde County - Uvalde, 2/12,26
You can find out more information and a sign up form for the meetings.
New Leadership at TWDB and TCEQ
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has announced several key leadership appointments at Texas’ water and environmental agencies. Brady Franks and Ashley Morgan have been appointed to the Texas Water Development Board. Franks, a former director in the Governor’s Office, brings more than a decade of experience in budgeting, planning, and strategic operations. Morgan, an attorney, has served in multiple state agencies, including the Governor’s Office, Office of the Attorney General, Railroad Commission of Texas, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Franks’ term extends through 2031 and Morgan’s through 2027. Read the full announcement for Franks here and for Morgan here.
Tonya Miller has also been appointed to serve as a Commissioner of the TCEQ through 2031. Miller previously served on the TWDB Board and brings extensive experience in environmental and energy leadership, including roles with the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Texas Solar Power Association, and several divisions within TCEQ. Her appointment marks a return to the agency and underscores her long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship.
Be Prepared for a Freeze
While cold weather makes an appearance in South Texas for a limited number of weeks during the year, we can actually get several days of freezing weather during that time. And, when that happens, you want to be prepared to protect those beautiful native plants you’ve enjoyed all year long.
“There are some native plants that will just shrug off a hard freeze, hibernate and bloom in the spring,” said Emily Green, TGR District program manager. “However, there are some plants that do need some protection when we get several days in a row of freezing weather. Thankfully, there are some simple ways to accomplish that goal.”
Here is how freezing weather can damage a plant. According to Kimberly Mayer, a horticulturist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, when the water inside plant cells freezes, ice crystals form and can damage the cell walls, killing the cells. As temperatures rise, fluids leak out of those cells and they begin to decay. Freeze damage first appears as dark, water-soaked tissues that later turn brown or black and dry up.
There are two types of freezes that South Texans should prepare for. Most people are familiar with the term blue norther, a windy cold front that moves south from Canada through the Great Plains. These northers can bring high winds, deep plunges in temperatures and precipitation which can turn into ice. “Radiative frosts” occur when the sky is clear and winds are less than 4 mph. During the day, the sun’s radiation heats the plants and soil. At night, they lose radiation back to the sky. Plants and other objects cool faster when skies are clear because of the unimpeded loss of radiation.
“Homeowners can use different types of materials to cover plants, add some water to the soil if it is dry about a week ahead of a freeze, move potted plants near a building that will radiate some warmth and build a mound of mulch around the plant’s roots,” Green explained. “The idea is to get a little bit of warmth to plants during a freeze to allow them to survive. Native plants are very resilient and will make a comeback in the spring if you just get them through those extremely cold periods during the winter.
You can learn more about protecting plants and pets during a freeze at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
TGR District Sill in Stage 3 Drought
If you’ve been watching the Trinity Glen Rose District’s drought dashboard over the past several months, you might have noticed that Bexar County almost went from the “extreme drought” classification down a step to “severe drought” after those huge summer rains in July. But, the past few weeks, the drought map has reverted to nearly all of Bexar County being classified as extreme drought.
Given those facts, the District remains in Stage 3 of its drought management plan. Here are the top three ways people living in Bexar County can reduce their water use to help protect Trinity Aquifer well levels from dwindling lower than their near historic lows being measured now.
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The growing season is over. So please turn off all in-ground sprinkler systems and only spot water by hand if absolutely necessary.
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Fix any water leaks you might have at your residence.
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Try not to do extensive planting now. New plants require extra watering to establish their root systems.
Weather forecasts for the coming months are showing South Texas could be facing slightly lower than normal rainfall. That will obviously not help the current drought conditions, so we all need to pitch in to help preserve our local aquifers by conserving the water they provide.
GARDENING
GO
Check out what’s happening in this edition of your favorite landscape show - Go Gardening!
Go Gardening Teaches Fall Planting, Design
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The November Go Gardening Show closes out Season 4 and we want to thank the Gardening Volunteers of South Texas for their initiative and all the contributors for making the year a great one.
To wrap up Season 4, the Go Gardening production team headed over to the home of Dana Nichols, who recently retired from the San Antonio Water System after spending a career there in the water conservation department. She is a landscape expert and a lot of fun to be around as you will see in segment one. She recently had a neighbor remove a huge oak tree which shaded her entire front yard. So now she's thinking about native plant changes which do better in full sun. We had a great time and learned a great deal from Dana.
Next, Mark Peterson, met up with the president of the Gardening Volunteers of South Texas, Andrew Waring, to talk about ways to protect those beautiful native plants from a serious freeze if we get one of those this winter. Mark and Andrew spent the last few minutes of the show expressing the Go Gardening Team's appreciation to viewers and show sponsors. Click here to watch the latest Go Gardening Show.
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You can watch previous Go Gardening shows at: https://www.youtube.com/@gardeningvolunteersofsouth5703/videos.
TGR's Drought Tolerant Plant Picks
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Having a water-saving garden doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice color and even year round color in your landscape. Once the temperatures cool, any of the native perennials can go in the ground for next year’s show. Here are two great suggestions.
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The Prairie verbena, Glandularia bipinnatifida (top photo), is an annual or short-lived perennial that reseeds readily. Once established, its long bloom period will provide color when other wildflowers have faded. Does well in both sun and part shade and doesn’t mind our caliche soils. As with most natives, only water when the plant looks sad in the morning, not when they look droopy in the evenings after a hot day. May be found at local nurseries and regional native plant sales.
The native Tropical sage, Salvia coccinea (bottom photo), checks a ton of boxes: long-blooming, perennial, reseeds readily, adds vertical interest, and a favorite of butterflies and hummingbirds owing to its bright red, tubular flowers. The pungent foliage makes it a less-preferred snack for our resident deer. Tolerates sun to shade as well as a spectrum of soil and water conditions. Just trim back spent flower heads to promote bushier growth. Easily found at our local nurseries.
DROUGHT
DASHBOARD
With the severity of the current drought conditions expected to continue into 2026, the TGR District is providing up to date information about these conditions affecting local aquifers and how you can help.
At the TGR Drought Dashboard on the District’s website home page, you will find the current U.S. drought monitor map, the rainfall chart from the National Weather Service, current drought news articles and a link to some great water conservation recommendations at our Don’t Waste the Wet Stuff page.
DID YOU KNOW?
TGR
That’s a lot of water…
Groundwater supplies approximately 55 percent of the water used in the State of Texas each year. Roughly 15 million acre-feet of water is pumped from aquifers like the Trinity Aquifer, Edwards Aquifer, Carrizo Aquifer and others. That equates to nearly five trillion gallons of water. Here’s the equation.
One acre-foot = 325,851 gallons. Multiply that number by 15,000,000 acre-feet to get 4,887,765,000,000.
NEWS
BRIEFS
TGR District Email Address
We are in the process of updating our IT system which will include a new email for the office. That new email address is: office@TGRGCD.org.
Call to Set Appointments with TGR District Staff
If you need to meet with the TGR District staff, we ask that you call to make an appointment so we can make sure you connect with the appropriate person who can answer questions and/or resolve problems. Call us at (210) 698-1155.
