What is drought?
What is causing the drought in 2011?
How long will the drought last?
How low will the lakes get?
What is LCRA doing about the drought?
Why is watering restricted during a drought?
What is the approved watering schedule?
Why is LCRA sending water downstream when the lake levels are falling?
How can I keep track of the drought and lake conditions?
Why doesn’t LCRA dredge the lakes to increase water supply?
Why doesn’t LCRA increase the region’s water supply?
Why did LCRA lower lakes Inks and Austin during a drought?
What is the Drought of Record?
Who owns the water in the lakes?
How low have lakes Travis and Buchanan been?
How can I help save water?
What are the agricultural water customers doing to conserve water?
Why are drought measures different for different communities and other customers who are provided water from LCRA?
Where do I find more information about which drought measures affect me?
If my irrigation water is provided through a domestic use contract, whose watering schedule do I follow?
Q: What is drought?
A: Water supply managers, meteorologists and even farmers measure drought in different ways. The National Drought Monitor considers a variety of factors, such as rainfall totals, water supply levels, soil moisture and other factors, to assign a drought designation for geographic areas.
From LCRA’s perspective, we focus on extended periods of time of little or no rain that can impact the levels of lakes Travis and Buchanan, the region’s water supply reservoirs. During, and for some time after a prolonged drought, even if rainfall totals return to near normal, little water flows in rivers and streams and lake levels can remain low. That’s because the rainfall is absorbed by soil made dry by prolonged drought.
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Q: What is causing the drought in 2011?
A: A lack of rain, caused by a strong La Niña weather pattern that started in late 2010. The Highland Lakes were built to store water during rainy times so that the water can be used during dry times. The result is lower lake levels. The lakes are doing their job.
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Q: How long will the drought last?
A: It is not possible to accurately predict exactly how long the drought will last. 2011 is expected to be a dry year because of a strong La Niña weather pattern. However, a strong La Niña often means a strong tropical storm season, so that might offer some relief. But rain must fall in the right place and for a sufficient amount of time to fill the Highland Lakes.
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Q: How low will the lakes get?
A: LCRA provides projections for lake levels and water supply levels each month. These are updated based on current water use and lake levels and historical patterns of inflows to the Highland Lakes. View the latest projections at www.lcra.org/droughtupdate
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Q: What is LCRA doing about the drought?
A: LCRA manages the Highland Lakes according to its state-approved Water Management Plan. The plan prescribes actions that LCRA takes during a drought to save water and ensure there is enough water to meet critical needs. LCRA calls on all customers to take extra steps to use less water during drought, and agricultural water customers can be cut back or cut off during droughts.
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Q: Why is watering restricted during a drought?
A: Each city or water provider sets its own drought contingency plan to reduce water use during a drought. Most water providers include outdoor watering restrictions in these plans because landscape irrigation is one of the largest municipal uses of water during the summer months.
Also, most landscapes can survive on less water and therefore water is saved for essential uses in homes and businesses.
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Q: What is the approved watering schedule?
A: Each city or water provider sets its own watering schedule. Check with the water provider in your area to find out what is recommended or required.
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Q: Why is LCRA sending water downstream when the lake levels are falling?
A: A major reason LCRA built lakes Travis and Buchanan was to provide the lower Colorado River basin with a reliable source of water, especially during periods of drought. The releases serve a variety of customers throughout the basin, such as communities (including the City of Austin), industry (including electric power plants) and agriculture. LCRA's state-approved plan for operating the Highland Lakes includes requirements to provide water for river habitat and water quality along the lower river and for the health and productivity of Matagorda Bay. During droughts, when LCRA must release more water than the rains are replenishing, the levels of Travis and Buchanan will drop. Even so, the lakes are performing their intended jobs of providing the basin with a reliable source of water.
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Q: How can I keep track of the drought and lake conditions?
A: LCRA staff provides many easy-to-use tools to keep track of drought and lake conditions.
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Q: Why doesn’t LCRA dredge the lakes to increase water supply?
A: In its Water Supply Resource Plan, LCRA studied the costs and benefits of dredging the lakes to create new water supply. The study showed that it would cost $17,000 to $23,000 to produce an acre-foot of water by dredging the lakes and storing the dredge material. That’s more than 100 times the current water rate. The study showed many other alternatives would be more cost effective.
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Q: Why doesn’t LCRA increase the region’s water supply?
A: The LCRA Board on Oct. 20, 2010, approved a 90-year roadmap for providing water supplies to lower Colorado River basin customers. The plan, known as the Water Supply Resource Plan, lays out options for increasing water supplies and the expected costs to meet projected future demands. Visit www.lcra.org/watersupply for more information.
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Q: Why did LCRA lower lakes Inks and Austin during a drought?
A: LCRA periodically lowers the lakes to allow lakeside residents to work on docks and to help control the growth of nuisance weeds. LCRA managed these lake lowerings in 2011 so that no additional water was released from storage within the Highland Lakes system. Water from Inks Lake was held in Lake Travis and only water needed for downstream uses was released from Lake Austin. No water was wasted.
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Q: What is the Drought of Record?
A: It is the decade-long drought that affected Central Texas from the late 1940s through the late 1950s. No other drought in recent history was as severe for such a long period of time. LCRA and other regional and state organizations use it as a benchmark to compare recent droughts and to prepare for future droughts.
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Q: Who owns the water in the lakes?
A: The State of Texas owns all surface water in the state, including water in the Highland Lakes. LCRA acquired the water rights from the state to manage the water on behalf of the residents of Central Texas and the lower Colorado River basin.
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Q: How low have lakes Travis and Buchanan been?
A: During the Drought of Record, Lake Travis dropped to an all-time low elevation of 614.2 feet msl in August 1951; Lake Buchanan dropped to 983.7 feet msl in September 1952. During the 2008-2009 drought, Lake Travis dropped to 629.83 msl and Lake Buchanan dropped to 989.86 msl.
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Q: How can I help save water?
A: Taking simple steps can help the Colorado River, our primary water supply, last through the drought. It’s easy to save water, and it doesn’t require sacrifice.
- Don’t overwater your landscape.
- Follow your utility’s watering schedule. Water your lawn no more than half an inch, twice a week.
- Water between dusk and dawn, never during the middle of the day, to minimize evaporation.
- Check sprinkler systems frequently and repair or replace broken sprinkler heads so you’re irrigating your lawn, not your sidewalk, home or street.
- To save water indoors, fix leaks and replace outdated toilets and fixtures.
- For more water-saving tips, visit www.lcra.org/savewater.
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Q: What are the agricultural water customers doing to conserve water?
A: Area farmers have been leveling fields with the help of money from the LCRA’s HB1437 program, which was created by the Texas Legislature in 1999 to fund agricultural conservation programs. Roughly 22,000 acres of rice land have been leveled using laser technology since 2006. Leveling reduces the amount of water needed to irrigate rice crops by removing low spots. Each acre leveled is estimated to save about three-quarters of an acre-foot of water over the first and second crop of a season.
LCRA, with the support of many area farmers, has also instituted a new rate structure to drive down use and encourage conservation. Irrigation water can now cost as much as triple the base price for farmers who use too much.
LCRA recently received a $100,000 Texas Water Development Board grant to help build structures that will measure water use in the Garwood Irrigation Division. Also, the Bureau of Reclamation plans to fund nearly half of a $550,000 project to improve the Gulf Coast Irrigation Division’s canal system by installing check structures.
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Q: Why are drought measures different for different communities and other customers who are provided water from LCRA?
A: Drought measures vary between communities because what might work in one area might not be applicable or appropriate for another. Each water customer, whether it is a utility or a golf course, develops its own drought contingency plan to achieve water savings during times of drought or water shortage.
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Q: Where do I find more information about which drought measures affect me?
A:The best thing to do is to call your water supplier or check your water supplier’s website for more information about potential drought measures that might be required or recommended in your community.
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Q: If my irrigation water is provided through a domestic use contract, whose watering schedule do I follow?
A: According to LCRA’s domestic use contracts, a watering schedule of no more than twice a week is in effect year round for customers irrigating directly from LCRA’s water supply.
