AUSTIN As the region continues to deal with the effects of a severe drought, the Lower Colorado River Authority has determined no water from the Highland Lakes will be available for most LCRA agricultural customers in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties in 2024. This marks the second straight full year that no water from the lakes has been available for customers in the Gulf Coast, Lakeside and Pierce Ranch agricultural operations.
LCRA made the determination on March 2 based on the intensity and duration of the drought and the amount of water in lakes Buchanan and Travis on March 1, as required by its state-approved Water Management Plan. Under the plan, the current water supply condition is "extraordinary drought." Combined storage in lakes Buchanan and Travis, the two water supply reservoirs in the Highland Lakes, on March 1 was 845,086 acre-feet, or about 42% of capacity.
"This is a reflection of the se - rious drought we're in," said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of Water. "Texas has gotten some significant rain over the last few months, but it hasn't been in the right areas to benefit Lake Buchanan or Lake Travis. The Water Management Plan requires us to take this step to help ensure we can continue to meet the water needs of cities and industries throughout the region." LCRA provides water to firm and interruptible water customers. Firm customers are primarily municipalities, water districts and industries that purchase water available even during a repeat of the worst drought in the region's history. Interruptible customers are agricultural customers in the lower basin that purchase water at a lower rate that is cut back or cut off during droughts.
LCRA has cut off water from lakes Buchanan and Travis for most interruptible agricultural customers since the summer of 2022 because of the drought. The next time water from the lakes could be available for those interruptible customers is spring 2025.
This year, 16,800 acrefeet of water from the lakes will be available to interruptible customers in the Garwood Agricultural Division under terms of the purchase agreement for the Garwood water rights.
For more information about water supply operations, visit www. lcra.org/water/water-supply-planning/water-supply-operations. Visit www.lcra.org/drought for more information about LCRA's drought response.
