Drought News

January 31, 2012

Spicewood Beach and neighbors getting water trucked in

A Central Texas community has run out of water amid a statewide drought, prompting the Lower Colorado River Authority to start trucking in water. Read more from Statesman.com.

January 24, 2012

LCRA: Spicewood Beach wells have two to three weeks of water remaining

The well supplying water for about 1,100 residents near Spicewood Beach in Burnet County is at risk of running dry in two to three weeks because of prolonged drought conditions…"We are hopeful that conservation efforts will extend the life of the well, but even so, it is likely the well will become unusable in the next few weeks." Learn More

Drought Emergency Planning Workshops

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will be hosting drought emergency planning workshops throughout the state in January and February 2012. The workshops will provide local government officials, board members, and their water system operators information and tools to prevent and mitigate water outages. Learn More

January 6, 2012

After exceptionally hot and dry 2011, more drought forecast for new year

After enduring the record-setting heat and dry conditions of 2011, drought-weary Texans are being greeted with forecasts of more of the same for the new year. Read more from TexasClimateNews.org.

December 21, 2011

Texas Tree Ring Study Warns of Long Droughts

A new study of tree rings adds to evidence that Texas has experienced at least one 10-year drought every 100 years, as well as several "mega-droughts" lasting 15 to 30 years over the centuries. Read full Texas Tribune article.

November 30, 2011

It could take years for state's aquifers to fill

A historic drought has depleted Texas aquifers to lows rarely seen since 1948, and it could take months — or even years — for the groundwater supplies to fully recharge, scientists who study NASA satellite data said Wednesday. Read more from SA Express-News.

November 17, 2011

Fines drive home Kendall's drought restrictions

Reflecting statewide rainfall totals for most of 2011 that were well below 1956 levels and record low levels in local monitor wells, the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District implemented Stage Five of the drought contingency plan in June of 2011. The success of this effort to conserve groundwater can ultimately rest on the ability of a District to enforce rules. For coverage of a rare, but sometimes necessary, enforcement hearing in Kendall County. Read full SA Express-News article.

November 14, 2011

Drought Effects on Our Rivers and Lakes

Water Specialist and HCA Advisory Board member, Mike Mecke, provides an overview of the current conditions of the primary lakes and rivers of Texas in the November edition of Ranch & Rural Living Magazine. Read article here.

October 17, 2011

Texas ranchers, farmers, seeing record losses in grip of drought, say, 'These are desperate times'

Agricultural losses attributed to the drought have reached a record $5.2 billion, according to a report prepared by Texas A&M System's AgriLife Extension Service. Livestock losses alone are $2.06 billion. After factoring in losses for elevators, processing plants and other businesses that serve farmers and ranchers, the total economic impact hits $8.7 billion. Read full Statesman.com article.

October 3, 2011

Current drought could become worst ever, state climatologist says

Texas could be in the midst of a drought the history books have never seen, meaning water planners need to prepare for worse than what they've seen, state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said Thursday. Read more from Statesman.com.

September 28, 2011

DAVE MCNEELY: It's time to stop taking water for granted

The water shortage in Texas can certainly use some prayers, and maybe even some rain dances. But it's going to take more than that — much more. That was the conclusion Saturday of panelists at a session called "The Coming Crisis Over Water." Read more from Go San Angelo.

Draft Water Plan Says Texas "Will Not Have Enough"

Draft Water Plan Says Texas "Will Not Have Enough" "The primary message of the 2012 state water plan is a simple one," the introduction states. "In serious drought conditions, Texas does not and will not have enough water to meet the needs of its people, and its businesses, and its agricultural enterprises." Read full Texas Tribune article.

September 22, 2011

Texas Water Supplier Approves Emergency Drought Plan

At a board meeting on Wednesday, the Lower Colorado River Authority approved an emergency plan that could cut off water supplies to downriver rice farmers entirely next year if the drought worsens. Read full Texas Tribune article.

Texas city rips up grass in effort to save water

A study released in 1979 showed just how close El Paso was to a water crisis. Over the next couple of decades the city took drastic measures to stabilize its water supply, undergoing a philosophical and physical facelift that included ripping up grass from many public places, installing rock and cactus gardens and offering financial incentives for residents to do the same. Today, El Paso is among the few cities in the drought-stricken state not worrying about water. Read full El Paso Times article.

Surviving Drought Along the Llano

“This story is just another example of how we are all in this together. No one city or person can use water without thinking about someone else's water needs. Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, "it is when the well is dry that we know the price of water." Texas may not yet know the price, but we are certainly understanding its value.” Read more from Amy Hardberger at EDF.

September 8, 2011

Llano drought story featured in the New York Times

Government has always had a hard time telling Texans how to live. But the ban on most types of outdoor watering has been embraced by people in Llano, where a kind of World War II-era rationing spirit has become a way of life.” Read NY Times article here.

September 7, 2011

BSEACD News: Stage III Critical Drought Imminent

The Barton Spring Edwards Aquifer Conservation District issued an update this week about drought conditions, conservation and restrictions to expect. “The District asks all of its groundwater-using residents to continue their water conservation measures and be even better stewards of an increasingly scarce resource. A list of water conservation measures and more detailed information on aquifer conditions are available on District’s website at http://www.bseacd.org.” Read the Aquifer Bulletin here.

August 24, 2011

S.A. teeters on brink of Stage 3 water rules

The water level of the Edwards Aquifer J-17 monitoring well has dropped more than two feet since Monday, putting San Antonio on the edge of triggering Stage 3 watering restrictions.Unless the region gets rain very soon, the Edwards Aquifer Authority and San Antonio Water System are predicting that sometime between next week and mid-September, outdoor watering with sprinklers and irrigation systems will be limited to one day every other week. Read full SA Express article here.

August 21, 2011

Act now, before droughts get any more harmful

Water flowing into the Highland Lakes is down to a trickle, and Central Texas continues to break high temperature and low rainfall records. Experts now warn these drought conditions could continue into 2012. Given this reality, the National Wildlife Federation and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club urge our region's water providers to revisit their drought contingency plans and adopt stronger measures to reduce water use before our water supplies are further compromised. Read full Statesman.com opinion piece here.

August 18, 2011

Huffman: Protection efforts will help us out in future droughts

These are more than just the dog days of summer in Austin. In addition to record temperatures, we are experiencing record drought. In fact, Lake Travis lost enough water in June to serve the entire City of Austin for a year. This week, both the Travis County Commissioners Court and the Austin City Council took major steps toward addressing these issues not just for the present, but also for future generations. Read full Statesman.com article here.

Latest state agriculture report: $5.2 billion in drought losses a record

More than 99 percent of Texas is in some form of drought, and agricultural losses are more than $5.2 billion — the worst drought losses Texas has ever seen , according to a recent report released Wednesday by the Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Service. The losses represent more than three months of agricultural production in an average year. Read full Statesman.com article here.

August 17, 2011

As Texas Dries Out, Life Falters and Fades

“Texas is going to get hotter and drier,” said Malcolm Cleaveland, a professor at the University of Arkansas who led the researchers. Indeed, rainfall modeling shows that rising temperatures and more arid conditions over the last few decades are likely to increase in the 21st century. Read full New York Times article here.

August 16, 2011

Weather Patterns and Hill Country Water

The Texas Water Journal takes a close look at weather patterns and statistics related to unique Hill Country water resource challenges. “Statistical relations of precipitation and stream runoff for El Niño and La Niña periods, Texas Hill Country. It’s not news that The Texas Hill Country is threatened by devastating long-duration droughts and short-duration floods, but understanding these patterns and just how fragile and vulnerable our water system is can help our region manage limited water resources sustainably.

August 5, 2011

Hill Country must focus on long-term water goals

Population in the Hill Country is projected to continue to rapidly increase, thus the number of folks threatened by a serious water shortage also will increase. Perhaps the only benefit might be that residents of the Texas Hill Country would create a long-term plan to prevent such situations from occurring in the future. It will take many people working together to achieve this goal. Read full SA Express article here.

July 22, 2011

Drought intensifies across lower Colorado River basin

A prolonged stretch of exceptionally dry weather is causing the drought across Texas and the lower Colorado River basin to intensify."This has been the driest nine months in Texas history - the absolute driest,” LCRA General Manager Becky Motal said. “This is a serious situation, but it’s not dire. Water flowing into the Highland Lakes is down to a trickle in places. Rest assured LCRA is managing the region’s water supply to make it through this exceptional drought, and we are asking everyone to use water as efficiently as possible and reduce water use wherever they can.” Read full from Statesman.com article here.

July 16, 2011

Drought: A Creeping Disaster

FLOODS, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and other extreme weather have left a trail of destruction during the first half of 2011. But this could be just the start to a remarkable year of bad weather. Next up: drought. Read full New York Times article here.

July 15, 2011

Raymond Slade: Make tough choices before drought takes over region

Many hydrologists, as well as other scientists, have understood that the region has been long overdue for another serious drought. And the current drought could become much worse — it began only about a year ago, and past droughts in the area have lasted up to nine years. The benefit of a drought might be that residents of the Hill Country resolve to create a long-term plan to prevent such situations in the future. It will take many people working together to achieve this. Read full Statesman.com article here.

July 13, 2011

Drought Demands Tough Decisions From Cattlemen

Range conditions, which have barely received five inches of rain since September 2010, have prompted Fredericksburg area cattle, sheep and goat producers to make some tough decisions about whether to keep their livestock and continue hoping for rain or to cut their losses by selling off all or part of their herds now. Read full Fredericksburg Standard article here.

For Texas Policymakers, Drought Exposes Limits of Power

The Texas drought has escalated into a significant natural disaster. Around the Panhandle, normally one of the most agriculturally productive regions of the state, acres of dry dirt fill would-be croplands. Lakes' levels are falling statewide. Cities are tightening water restrictions, amid the driest October-through-June stretch in Texas history. So what can the government do to help those who are hit hardest? Not much, at the state level, experts say. Read full Texas Tribune article here.

July 6, 2011

Lengthy Drought Takes Toll on Texas Wildlife

Texas is now nine months into one of the worst droughts in recorded state history, and it shows no signs of abating. That's bad news for city dwellers who must use ever less water for their lawns, but it's worse for many wildlife and fish, which find their habitats drying up. Read full Texas Tribune article here.

July 1, 2011

Thirsting for water in Kendall County

When drought hits Kendall County, trucker Troy Immel stops hauling milk. “In the short term, water is more profitable,” he said from the cab of his Kenworth tractor that pulls a 6,000-gallon tank. Working 12 hours or more a day, including weekends and holidays, Immel struggles to meet the growing demand for water in the Hill Country caused by a drop in production from wells drilled in the Trinity Aquifer. Read full SA Express article and watch video here.

June 29, 2011

Water-Starved Town May Face Draconian Restrictions

Llano is entirely dependent on its namesake river for its community water supply. If the river stops flowing altogether — which could happen sometime next month — the city has estimated, conservatively, that it has 60 to 90 days of water storage in its reservoir, city manager Finley deGraffenried told the Tribune. Read the full Texas Tribune article here.

How Severe is the drought?

"Measured inflows from October 2010 through May 2011 have been the lowest for that eight-month period since the record began in 1942." Maps and statistics published by the LCRA illustrate the seriousness of our conditions.

June 27, 2011

Drought will cause $3 billion loss in Texas

Drought will cause $3 billion loss in Texas CRAWFORD, Texas - It looks like harvest time in Texas, but for fourth-generation farmer Bert Gohlke it's actually a financial disaster. His potential losses? More than a quarter of a million dollars - but that's just a fraction of the $3 billion the historic drought will cost Texas farmers and ranchers. Click here for CBS News story.

June 21, 2011

Dealing with the Hill Country’s Dire Drought

Sixth generation Texan, local columnist, Ed Mergele observes, “We have plowed up the grass lands, we have drilled holes to drain the aquifers that took thousands of years to fill, we have built millions of structures, roads, and parking lots over the once porous soil, so that the aquifers cannot possibly refill, and worst of all we have overpopulated an area that cannot support us.” Click here to read Ed’s column recently featured in the Hill Country Weekly.

Highland Lakes Face Drought – A five part series by Kate Galbraith

This week The Texas Tribune is featuring the five part series about the LCRA,Water Fight, about the devastating drought’s affect on the diverse interests in the Highland Lakes. “Three major power plants are using about 45 percent more water now versus two years ago.”

June 19, 2011

Water woes threaten growth

Every five years, the Texas Water Development Board issues a frightening report about our water future. It's usually met with uncomprehending shrugs. The next report likely won't vary much from the last one — which found that 85 percent of Texans won't have adequate water in a drought by 2060 unless we come up with $30.7 billion worth of new water projects (although preliminary reports indicate the cost will be substantially higher). Read full SA Express-News article here.

Dwindling Lakes, Growing Water Demand in Central Texas

On the cliffs surrounding Central Texas’ large Lake Buchanan, a white ring extends some 13 feet above the shoreline, marking where the water reaches when the lake is full. At nearby Lake Travis, staircases that once led to the water’s edge now end well above it. These two lakes serve as key water sources for dozens of cities and hundreds of farmers, as well as for several power plants. Read more from Texas Tribune here.

June 17, 2011

Drought presents a genuine danger for birds

The lack of water and insects means many songbird chicks may die from lack of nutrition. Many parent songbirds may be dangerously weakened from lack of food before their migratory journey south in a few months. Read more from SA Express-News here.

June 16, 2011

Kendall County water table at record low

The persistent drought has caused record declines in water tables in Kendall County, which gets its water from the Trinity Aquifer, and prompted one utility there to prohibit all outdoor watering. Read more from SA Express-News here.

As Drought Intensifies, Wildscaping Can Help Texans Save Water

Texas residents are asked to monitor and reduce their water usage, yet home and land owners may feel they have little control over resource conservation when it comes to manicured lawns and upkeep of green spaces. They may have heard of alternative gardening as a way to cut costs and save water, but may not know where to turn for advice or information. Read more from Texas Parks and Wildlife here.

Edwards Aquifer Authority reports Stage III restrictions imminent across region

With little prospect for rain in the foreseeable future, additional reductions in pumping from the Edwards Aquifer appear to be imminent, according to information presented Tuesday to the Edwards Aquifer Authority Board of Directors during its monthly meeting. In a report to the board, Authority staff indicated that soaring temperatures and the continued lack of rain are likely to result in further drought-induced pumping restrictions for Edwards Aquifer users across the region. Read more

Cow Creek GCD moves to a Stage 5 Drought Condition

At their June 13th, 2011 Board Meeting, the Cow Creek GCD’s Board of Directors moved from Drought Stage 4 - Severe Drought to Drought Stage 5 - Extreme Drought. General Manager Micah Voulgaris recommended the move, citing the lack of rainfall, historic lows in several of the District's monitor wells and the extremely low stream flow levels in the Guadalupe River. here.

Drought could dry Llano River by week's end, officials say

As of Wednesday, the Llano River, which normally courses through town at 158 cubic feet per second this time of year, was flowing at 3.8 cubic feet per second — the slowest since 1953, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The river is the city's sole source of drinking water. Read full Statesman.com article here.

June 7, 2011

Drought reveals deeper area water issues

The water in the San Marcos River and Barton Springs may be more closely related than previously thought. It's long been believed that an underground divide separates the water flowing from two springs, but a new study has found that's not always the case. "The assumption was whatever happens in the San Antonio segment of the Edwards Aquifer doesn't really impact what's going on at Barton Springs and vice versa,” Todd Votteler with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority said. “But the study shows that's not necessarily true during these really serious droughts." Read full YNN story here.

June 1, 2011

Parched Drought of 2011 – Fredericksburg Times Standard

In December, the old Gillespie County rancher looked back over the previous three months when less than a half-inch of rain had fallen on his land and said, “Surely things will get better soon.”...Over the past month, the county has slipped from moderate to severe drought status, according to the Palmer Hydrological Drought Index monitored by the Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District headquartered in Fredericksburg. Full article from here.

May 24, 2011

Record farming, ranching loss seen

Texas' farmers and ranchers are coping with their eighth drought in the past 13 years, and this one, while still young, has a chance of slamming producers with their biggest losses ever, officials said. Read full SA Express article here.

April 20, 2011

Flow into Colorado lower than drought-of-record period, LCRA says

In the latest sign of how dry the recent drought has been, Lower Colorado River Authority officials announced Wednesday that the flow of water from streams and creeks into the Colorado River over the past six months is worse than any similar period during the worst-ever drought. Read more from Statesman.com here.

April 19, 2011

Kendall County moved to Drought Stage 4

At their April 11th Regular Meeting, the Board of Directors of the Cow Creek GCD voted unanimously to move from Stage 3 - Moderate Drought to Stage 4 - Severe Drought. General Manager Micah Voulgaris noted lack of rainfall, decline in water levels in 30 of the District’s monitor wells, below average stream flow in the Guadalupe River, and the seasonal increase in outdoor lawn irrigation as reasons for the move to Stage 4. Read more

March 28, 2011

LCRA works to keep public informed about drought

With the lower Colorado River basin in the early stages of another drought, LCRA is offering two new ways for customers and the public to stay up to date on the drought. LCRA has created a web page to provide easy access to information and an e-newsletter to provide the latest drought news. Read more

December 17, 2010

Central Texas in drought again

Scarcely a year after one drought ended, another has gripped Central Texas. Parts or all of Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties are in a severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a federally funded service that tracks conditions across the country. Read full Statesman.com article here.

December 9, 2010

Experts fear Texas heading into another drought

State climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon told the Houston Chronicle that continuing dry weather is likely to persist at least into the spring. Nielsen-Gammon, who's also a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, says "it's probably going to get worse before it gets better." Read full Statesman.com article here.
Learn more from the Texas Drought Project

May 12, 2010

Does This Look Like a Drought? Forecasters Say It Will... and Soon

In Blanco County, we know what drought looks like. It looks like last summer, when creeks and ponds dried up and the grass went "crunch" under foot. What we see now, after six months of rain, is gorgeous green...full ponds, running streams, a record wildflower year, and even a little flash flooding this spring. Drought doesn't look like this. Last week, the forecasters said El Nino definitely is fading, and predicted a return to drought conditions within a few months. Read more here.

September 24, 2009

Intensity of drought surpasses previous droughts

Despite scattered rainfall, the Colorado River basin remains in a severe drought that is affecting water supply, LCRA staff told the Board of Directors this week. As a result, LCRA is considering whether to take additional drought management actions. Read full LCRA media release here.

September 4, 2009

Drought drying Barton Springs

The most severe drought in the nation is drying up one of Austin's most treasured natural resources, the spring-fed Barton Creek Pool where more than 400,000 visitors from around the world flock each year. Read full SA Express story here.

August 26, 2009

Drought Decisions Program Scheduled

Texas AgriLIFE Extension Service and the NRCS office have planned an educational program to be held on September 3 at the Pedernales Electric Coop Auditorium in Johnson City beginning at 6:00pm and concluding by 8:00pm. The program will address options available to cattlemen as they try and make sound management decisions as to what is best for them and the herd, as well as the rangeland. Read full Blanco County News article here.

August 24, 2009

As groundwater levels drop, people begin hauling in water

The drought has gotten so bad in the Hill Country that when the twin grandchildren of Bob Sharpe visit his place near Nutty Brown Road, they have to take an outdoor "cowboy shower" by having grandmother Sue Sharpe dump water on them from a bucket. For three months, his well has been dry, so several times a day, Bob Sharpe steers his blue Chevy pickup to the nearby Cedar Valley Grocery, which gets its water from a Colorado River pipeline, to fill his 200-gallon plastic tank, plus a dozen emptied Newman's Own grape juice jugs strewn across the truck bed. Read full Statesman.com commentary here.

August 23, 2009

Our Water Supply, Down the Drain

In the United States, we constantly fret about running out of oil. But we should be paying more attention to another limited natural resource: water. A water crisis is threatening many parts of the country -- not just the arid West. Read full article here.

August 17, 2009

The Reality of drought

The ongoing drought has kept water not only in the local headlines, but regionally throughout the Hill Country from San Antonio to Austin. As the drought persists, water availability, which by definition of State water planners is “the maximum amount of water available during the drought of record, regardless of whether the supply is physically or legally available”, is being reduced. Read full article here.

August 15, 2009

Drought will force some tough choices

After the 1930s and the construction of the massive Highland Lakes, our water supply seemed more or less infinite. Today, with our regional population topping 1.6 million, it is becoming very clear that the reservoirs do indeed have a bottom. Read full Statesman.com commentary here.

August 6, 2009

It’s Not Just About the Drought

Many more people have moved to the Hill Country since the last drought and have substantially increased demand on the water supply. “In some places, we have already exceeded a safe yield - water that is available during a drought,” Read the full article here.

August 4, 2009

Rainfall patterns at the Fly Gap

After a wet first half of 2007, why did dry conditions return in late 2007 through early 2009? What are our rainfall prospects for the coming year? What are the long-term trends for rainfall in central Texas? How will global warming affect our rainfall patterns? Read full article by David M. Hillis here.

July 29, 2009

Extreme drought prompts aquifer district to reduce amount of allowable groundwater pumping

The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District is proposing to create a new, extreme stage of drought that would require a 40% cutback in groundwater pumping for all permitted users. The proposal is one of a package of rule changes designed to respond more effectively to extreme and prolonged droughts, and to manage more equitably groundwater resources. Read full release here.

July 21, 2009

Will we run dry by 2080?

At the next turn of the century, with the Austin area looking something like today's Houston, Travis County will see a near-tripling in water demand. Williamson and Hays counties will require four or five times as much water as they do now, as our descendants will need water to drink, to bathe and to wash clothes and dishes. And on the Gulf end of the Colorado River, in Matagorda County, demand for water will roughly triple with new power plants requiring it to help cool their systems and power their turbines. Read full Statesman.com article here.

July 1, 2009

Temps, water levels worry Texans

Each day without rain, the sparkling water of Medina Lake recedes farther from the homes at its edge, forcing those who take a dip to traverse a dusty moonscape of rocks and docks left high and dry. Across the region as water dwindles in lakes, rivers and wells, communities are hoping to avoid a repeat of conditions seen decades ago. Read full SA Express-News article here.

June 18, 2009

Edwards Aquifer Authority declairs critical period stage two

The Edwards Aquifer Authority today declared stage two of the region’s critical period management plan, further limiting how much groundwater can be pumped from the Edwards Aquifer across a seven-county area of south-central Texas. Citing declining aquifer levels that are the result of a continuing drought and seasonal demand on the aquifer, the Authority declared stage two for Edwards groundwater users within the San Antonio Pool of the Edwards Aquifer region. Read full media release here.

June 2, 2009

Water users express concerns about groundwater supplies during drought

Groundwater users in the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District expressed concerns about groundwater supplies holding up if the current Critical Stage drought worsens. The District held town two hall meetings on June 2 and June 8 in Sunset Valley and Buda to review and get feedback on proposed rule changes that would better prepare the District to regulate and conserve groundwater resources during extreme drought. Read full release here.


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