Lawmakers near deal to spend $20 billion over two decades on water crisis
The deal allocates $1 billion a year to water projects for 20 years, which some groups estimate is a fraction of what Texas needs to save its water supply. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e0c16659eb94e872169745ed78c88cc6/SA%20Water%20Treatment%20CS%20TT%2012.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/2022_Alejandra_Martinez_2x3.jpeg)
Alejandra Martinez is a Fort Worth-based environmental reporter. She’s covered the impacts of petrochemical facilities on Black and brown communities, including investigating a chemical fire at an industrial complex and how the state's air monitoring system has failed Latino communities. Her work on climate change includes exploring the health effects of extreme heat and how extended droughts affect water resources. Before joining the Tribune in 2022, Alejandra was an accountability reporter at KERA, where she began as a Report for America Corps Member and then covered Dallas City Hall. She also has worked as an associate producer at WLRN in South Florida. A Houston native, Alejandra studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and speaks fluent Spanish.
Latest Contributions
-
![The SAWS’ Steven M. Clouse Water Recycling Center in San Antonio on Aug. 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers push to regulate AI in government and the tech industry
As the state seeks to put guardrails around the fast-growing technology, some critics say the bill doesn’t go far enough to protect citizens while industry worries about stifling innovation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/929b53c23ac35999d9a803059ef46d04/Capitol%20File%20AI%20TT%2010.jpg)
![Exterior of the state Capitol on Nov. 19, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
Water bills face deadline threat as Texas lawmakers negotiate spending priorities
Gov. Greg Abbott and other leaders have called for a major investment to save the state’s water supply. How to spend the money has caused friction at the Capitol. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/398e2fe936c08346dc745d935894e3dd/0305%20El%20Paso%20Water%20JH%20TT%2040.jpg)
![Workers conduct maintenance on the Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Plant El Paso, Texas on March 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill seeking to keep toxic “forever chemicals” off farmland misses key deadline
Supporters say the bill would protect farmland in Texas. Opponents say limiting PFAS chemicals in biosolids will force water utilities to look at other disposal methods, which will lead to higher utility bills. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/11bf044c0020288d656af37a6a82bea0/Farmer%20PFAS%20AS%20TT%2037.jpg)
![Tony Coleman passes by cattle while driving through their property in Grandview on Aug. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
They drove to the Capitol to testify on a bill and got a grueling lesson in Texas democracy
The group from Johnson County waited 18 hours to testify at a hearing that started at 1 a.m. on a bill to limit toxic chemicals in fertilizer. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e4ee3a5563fa0e1b49aa196f649449f2/0508%20PFAS%20Farmers%20LS%2004.jpg)
![Dana Ames speaks with Karen Coleman, right, awaiting a hearing on PFAs at the State Capitol on May 8, 2024.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Texas has thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells. Who is responsible for cleaning them up?
Across Texas, abandoned wells are erupting with chemical-infused liquid and some have created massive lakes of contaminated water. Regulators say they need more money to address the problem. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e9c4adfc9295f68d20372cc703138007/0327%20Orphan%20Well%20LW%2019.jpg)
![Men work to pull tubing from an orphan well in a field in Luling, Texas on March 27, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Can Texas lawmakers agree on how to spend billions to save the state's water supply?
The Texas House took its first step toward revising a priority Senate bill last week. The changes were lauded by the state’s water community. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9e49b22c2c3d133ebdba580491c05d48/0305%20El%20Paso%20Water%20JH%2010.JPG)
![Inside a primary clarifier, resembling petri-dish tanks, heavy solids and grease sink to the bottom and machines skim off particles at the top at the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant in El Paso on March 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
House Republicans refuse to pass ceremonial resolution honoring Cecile Richards
Normally, memorial resolutions to honor Texans who have died are passed without controversy. But the resolution for Richards, a former president of Planned Parenthood who died this year, sparked a cascade of outrage from conservatives. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c2324a83ad3dbe0f51f19ed2a8ed69e7/0417%20House%20Action%20BD%20TT%2004.jpg)
![Flanked by House Republicans, state Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, speaks against a memorial resolution honoring Cecile Richards in the Texas House on April 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
East Texans united to stop a water sale to Dallas suburbs — for now
After a deal to pipe water from Lake O’ the Pines to North Texas came to light, residents voiced opposition everywhere they could to block it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b039f87301c60dbe5666bed700356ac7/0409%20Lake%20o%20the%20Pines%20ST%20TT%2039.JPG)
![Mary Spearmon holds two of her grandchildren, Malikyi and Alajiah Elliott, at Hurricane Creek Park on the Lake o’ the Pines, where she would come with her late husband and their growing family to fish and enjoy the water, on April 9, 2025. “What about our future generations, our grandchildren and great grandchildren? What are they going to have if they take the lake?”]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
To avoid a water crisis, Texas may bet big on desalination. Here’s how it works in El Paso.
Desalination can create millions of gallons of fresh water a day. But it is expensive and there are many environmental concerns. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f24a08e36906cc4e686092af8ec2d395/desalination_lede_image.jpg)
![An illustration of a glass of water, superimposed over reverse osmosis filters from El Paso's Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant.]()
Credit: Carla Astudillo/The Texas Tribune