Y’all, we need to stay serious about water conservation.
Our weather is turning a little cooler, but the ongoing drought has not budged – and that means we should not and cannot let up on our water conservation efforts. We all need to continue to conserve water, and one of the quickest and easiest ways to do that is to dial back water use on landscapes.
This was our second hottest June, July and August on record, behind only the scorcher of 2011. It also has been extraordinarily dry.
Austin’s Camp Mabry received 1.3 inches of rain over those three months. Bay City received 2.24 inches and Burnet received .89 inches. We’ve had a little rain over the last few weeks, but not enough to make a significant difference. In addition, annual inflows or water flowing into the Highland Lakes – were the lowest in history last year. In July this year, the lakes received 1.2% of the av- erage inflows for that month, in August 0.2% and in September 6.6%. When you add in the sky- high evaporation rate and signifi cant increase in water use over the summer, you should have a good picture of why we’re in a serious situation. This is an extreme slice of an extreme drought.
We all need to make sure our remaining water supply is used wisely, and that means everything from fixing leaks immediately to turning off water when you brush your teeth. But to get the biggest bang for the buck, we need to look outdoors.
During hot weather, up to 70% of all water going to homes in a typical community is used outdoors. And by some estimates, as much as half of that runs off, evaporates or isn’t needed.
Let me provide some context for our current drought. Combined storage in our two water supply reservoirs, lakes Travis and Buchanan, is at its lowest level since 2015. That’s not where we’d like to see the lakes, of course, but they are doing what they were designed to do – capturing water when it rains and holding it for us to use when the weather dries up.
The lakes are large and quite deep in places, and even at these lower levels still contain enough water to supply our region for a good period of time to come.
Together, lakes Travis and Buchanan have supplied our region with water for more than 80 years, through droughts, floods and an unprecedented influx of people and businesses. The lakes will keep on doing that even as we add new sources such as groundwater and a new downstream reservoir to our region’s water supply.
We don’t, however, have water to waste, and there’s no scenario in the future where we will. That’s where all of us come in. We live in a semi-arid region, so we all have a responsibility to use water wisely. When it comes to conserving water and reducing discretionary water use, the quickest and easiest way to cut back is to stop pouring so much of this critical resource on lawns. Make no mistake – excessive landscape watering is wasting water.
Right about now you may be asking what LCRA has done during this drought. We’re currently in Stage 2 of our drought response. LCRA cut off stored water from the Highland Lakes supplies to three of the four interruptible agricultural operations for the second growing season of 2022 and for the entirety of 2023. The sole remaining irrigation division had its access to water from the reser- voirs significantly limited in 2023.
We’ll make the decision about availability for the 2024 growing season on March 1, 2024, based on conditions at that time.
We also asked our firm water customers (mostly municipalities, water districts and industries) to cut back water use by 10%-20%, including instituting mandatory restrictions. Each LCRA customer decides how best to implement cutbacks, so your provider may have different restrictions than your friends have in another neighborhood. Additionally, there may be a need for more significant re - strictions due to specific issues in your local area, such as water main breaks or equipment outages.
Please be aware of and follow your local water provider's restrictions.
With that context in mind, please pay attention to your water use, and do what you can to conserve. Do it because it’s the right thing to do. No one should wait for mandatory restrictions to stop wasting water.
In addition to following your local water provider's restrictions, we recommend: Using water-efficient and drought-tolerant plants.
•Adding mulch to landscapes and compost to turf to help prevent water loss.
•Covering swimming pools when not in use.
•Reducing water waste inside the house by turning off water when it’s not needed.
Visit www.WaterSmart.org for more tips and to see whether you qualify for a WaterSmart rebate from LCRA for items such as irrigation system evaluations, ret- rofitting or replacing irrigation system equipment, new pool filters and covers, aeration, compost and mulch, and soil testing. I wish I could tell you when our situation will change, but I don’t have a crystal ball. This fall looks to be wetter than our summer, but we still may not receive enough rain to break this significant drought.
This is Texas, and we all know our weather can change in a hurry. And when it does, we’ll be happy to see the lakes return to more average levels. But even then – please stay water wise and keep your good water habits. There is never a good time to waste water.
John Hofmann is executive vice president of Water at the Lower Colorado River Authority, which manages the lower Colorado River and Highland Lakes. For more information on the drought, visit www.lcra.org/drought.
