How we check facts
Every number on this site links to where it came from. If a fact can't be traced to a source we can open and read, it comes off the map. Here is how each part works, and every correction we've made.
Live readings
Gauges, reservoir levels, groundwater levels, new well reports, water right filings, data center permits, earthquakes, flood warnings and the list of towns limiting water use are pulled automatically every hour from the agencies that publish them. Nobody types or edits these numbers.
| On the map | Comes from |
|---|---|
| Reservoir levels, statewide percent full | Water Data for Texas (Texas Water Development Board) |
| Comal Springs flow | USGS daily average (provisional data, which USGS may revise) |
| Earthquakes | USGS earthquake catalog |
| Flood warnings | National Weather Service active alerts |
| Towns limiting water use | TCEQ water use restrictions list |
| Groundwater levels (about 430 recorder wells) | TWDB automated groundwater level wells (provisional daily highs) |
| New water wells by county | TWDB drillers' well report records. Private owners are never named. |
| Who is asking for water (water rights) | TCEQ pending water right applications |
| Data center permits | TCEQ pending air permit lists (New Source Review, Title V), matched to the site's data center list and the water data above |
| Aquifer boundaries | Texas Water Development Board major aquifer map, downloaded by the site. Until it downloads, the map shows simplified outlines marked "approximate". |
If a source is down, the map keeps its last good reading and the site does not claim to be updated that day.
Stories in "Latest"
Stories are written by the site's engine from the records above. Every day it reports the biggest reservoir moves, the groundwater picture, new well reports, water right filings and new data center permits. It also writes a story the moment a reading crosses a set line, for example a reservoir falling below 30% full, or a town reporting 90 days of water or less, or an outage. Each story is labeled with its source, dated by the source's own date, and gives the numbers. There is no opinion in them, and none are written by hand. Readings that jump in ways that can't be real (a large lake losing 15 points in a day) are treated as data glitches and get no story.
Map pins and statewide facts
- Each fact on a card was checked by opening the source linked under it and matching the wording and numbers.
- We prefer the original: the agency, the court filing, the study, the company's own statement. News reports are used when the fact is only reported there, and the card names the outlet.
- Claims are attributed. When a number is one person's or one group's estimate, the card says whose.
- If a fact can't be confirmed, it is removed, not hedged.
- Every card shows the date its facts were last checked.
Data centers
- Each project is listed from public sources: company announcements, local government records and news reports, all linked on its card.
- Map points sit at the town or county the sources name, not the exact site.
- Square size shows announced data center capacity only. A gas plant built to power a campus, an "up to" maximum plan, or a grid request is labeled as such and drawn at the smallest size, so squares compare like with like.
- Grid requests are not built projects. Many will never connect.
Fast sheets
Fast sheets are automatic extracts of agency and newsroom reports: the opening lines, the numbers and the quotes, copied from the source and linked back to it. They are not rewritten. A report must actually be about water and Texas to become a sheet; anything else is set aside. The site only reads pages whose owners allow it.
The Headlines tab lists Texas water headlines found through Google News search: the headline, the outlet and the date, linking to the outlet's own page.
Ads
"Local Pros" boxes are paid listings for local businesses. They are labeled, kept apart from the data, and have no say over what the map shows.