Latest news with #ConservationPlan
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ongoing Bell County projects to cause reduced water supply
BELL COUNTY, Texas (FOX 44) – The Bell County Water Control & Improvement District #1 (WCID 1) is raising awareness of reduced water supply during critical project completions coming next month. WCID 1 says two projects planned and funded to bring about improved reliability and enhanced resiliency are nearing completion. However, they will require a shut down of the 48-inch line to make final connections. This water main delivers approximately 2/3rds of the total water supply to the cities of Nolanville, Harker Heights, Killeen, and Copperas Cove – along with the 439 Water Supply Corporation and Fort Cavazos. A bid was awarded to McLean Construction in Killeen on April 24, 2024, in order to constructapproximately 5,000 feet of 54-inch steel pipeline parallel and adjacent to the problem riddledsection of 48-inch concrete steel cylinder pipe. Since the 48-inch pipe was originally installed in1975, there have been several main breaks resulting in reduced water supply to the approximate 265,000 population served by this system. WCID 1 says all but one line rupture occurred within a 5,000-foot section of the pipeline near North Nolan Road on the east side of the Fort Cavazos Military Reservation. The new steel pipe section is complete except for the connections to the existing 48 inch on either end as shown in the picture below. The other project is the construction of a 3-million-gallon concrete storage tank a few mileswest of the parallel line construction. This bid was also awarded to DN Tanks at the April 2024 WCID 1 Board Meeting. This project also requires a shutdown of the 48 to make the necessary connections to the transmission main as shown in the picture below. WCID 1 says it will be initiating Stage 3 of its Drought Contingency Plan toward the end of May, seeking at least a 30 percent reduction in water usage. The district will be asking all of its customers to implement the stage of their own Drought Contingency Plans resulting in at least a 30 percent reduction in water use. This curtailment could last up to four days while contractors make the critical connections and welds. During the time water is shut down on the 48-inch line, water delivery from the Belton Water Treatment Plant will be from a 24-inch line and a 30-inch line. If water usage from residents and businesses is reduced enough, a boil water advisory may not be necessary. However, if water usage depletes storage levels, then a mandatory boil order will be issued forpublic health and safety. The District will implement Emergency Water Demand Measures forwater delivery as shown in our Drought Contingency Plan. The Pro Rata Allocation from thisportion of the Conservation Plan will be used as a guide for reporting reduced usage during theshutdown period. WCID 1 says several water saving tips are available at For more information, you can contact Bell County WCID #1 General Manager Ricky Garrett at (254) 501-9243 or send an email to general@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
California's growing wolf population triggers new management phase
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The rising number of wolves in California has prompted the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to shift to 'Phase 2' of its wolf-management plan, the agency announced Wednesday. The new phase allows the CDFW to consider issuing permits for 'less-than-lethal harassment,' like firing guns or nonlethal munitions to scare off wolf packs hunting livestock. Any permit system would have to follow laws set in the California Endangered Species Act and Federal Endangered Species Act. 'Really Stupid Park': SF commuters use Great Highway park-naming contest to vent The new phase also prompts the CDFW to create an online tool for tracking GPS-collared wolves in the state. The CDFW will also publish its first annual report outlining the conservation and management of California wolves from 2015 to 2024. These changes are expected to occur in the coming weeks and months. 'This tool will greatly facilitate CDFW's efforts, as guided by the Conservation Plan, to provide timely information regarding wolf activity in the vicinity of livestock production,' the CDFW said. '… In the first part of 2025, CDFW has been able to collar and release 12 gray wolves in Northern California. There are now more satellite-collared wolves in California than ever before, which is expected to improve understanding and management of the species in the state.' Wolves naturally reentered California from Oregon in 2011. Wolf populations were wiped out in the region in the early 1900s and were reintroduced in Idaho in 1995 and 1996. By 2008, descendants of wolves reintroduced in Idaho began to recolonize Northeast Oregon, and ultimately Northern California. There are currently seven confirmed wolf packs in California: The Beyem Seyo pack, Diamond pack, Harvey pack, Ice Cave pack, Lassen pack, Whaleback pack and Yowlumni pack. These packs mostly inhabit Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties. However, the Yowlumni pack is found in the southern Sierra Nevada. The success of these packs prompted CDFW officials to enact Phase 2 of the state's wolf conservation plan. 'Five of the seven packs met CDFW's definition of a 'breeding pair' in 2024, meaning two adults and two or more pups surviving until the end of the year,' the CDFW said. 'Because CDFW has documented at least four breeding pairs for two consecutive years, California is now in 'Phase 2' of wolf management, as specified by the state's 2016 Conservation Plan for Gray Wolves in California.' Chevron to cut 600 jobs at former HQ in San Ramon The CDFW said that it is actively monitoring and tracking gray wolves in the state, investigating wolf deaths and wolf-related livestock attacks, and working to reduce conflicts between humans and gray wolves. In the last five years, CDFW officers have conducted eight investigations into gray wolf deaths. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
