Outdoor watering now restricted to no more than once a week
AUSTIN – The Lower Colorado River Authority on March 3 announced two significant drought responses that affect all LCRA water customers:
• LCRA moved from Stage One to Stage Two of its drought response, re- quiring all LCRA firm water customers – including cities, industries, and retail water suppliers – to increase water-saving measures and limit outdoor watering to no more than once a week.
• LCRA determined that no water from the Highland Lakes will be available to most LCRA interruptible agricultural customers in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties in 2025.
“These actions are needed to help preserve and extend our water supplies in the face of a drought that shows little signs of easing over spring and summer,” said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of Water. “Our water supply reservoirs – lakes Buchanan and Travis – remain stressed and are now sitting at about 51 percent of capacity.”
New outdoor watering restrictions LCRA moved to Stage Two of its Drought Contingency Plan for Firm Water Customers because on March 1, the amount of water in lakes Buchanan and Travis was below 1.1 million acre-feet, and the prior three months of inflows were less than the 25th percentile of his-
toric inflows for that three-month period.
During Stage Two, LCRA firm wa ter customers must implement additional water-saving measures, including an outdoor watering schedule of no more than once a week, with a goal of reduc- ing demands by 20 percent. Each firm water customer will decide what additional conservation measures to enact and how to enforce them.
The once-per-week watering restriction also applies to lakeside property owners that draw water directly from the Highland Lakes under a domestic use contract with LCRA.
“We can’t control the weather, evaporation or when it rains,” Hofmann said. “What we can control is our discretionary water use, such as the amount of water we put on our yards and landscapes. In terms of really having an impact on things, reducing the amount of outdoor watering is the most meaningful action people in Central Texas can do to help extend our water supplies.”
Hofmann encouraged people to use drought-tolerant plants and landscaping that can thrive on no more than once-aweek watering.
“Drought tolerant is really the name of the game here,” he said. “Drought-tolerant plants can survive on little water during our hot Texas summers, saving water and money. It’s a win-win.”
LCRA firm water customers include Austin, Burnet, Cedar Park, Cottonwood Shores, Dripping Springs, Granite Shoals, Horseshoe Bay, Lago Vista, Leander, Marble Falls, Pflugerville, the West Travis County Public Utility Agency, and multiple municipal utility districts, water control and improvement districts, and water supply corporations. Several LCRA water customers, including the City of Austin, already have maximum once-a-week watering restrictions in place.
LCRA was last in Stage Two of its drought response from August 2023 through June 2024. Stage Two will remain in effect until the combined storage of lakes Buchanan and Travis increases to at least 1.1 million acre-feet, or about 55 percent of capacity.
No water from the Highland Lakes for downstream interruptible customers for third straight year LCRA has determined that because of the drought, no water from the Highland Lakes will be available to most LCRA agricultural customers in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties in 2025. Water from the lakes has not been available for these customers since the first growing season in 2022.
LCRA made the determination based on provisions in the Water Management Plan, which required the cutoff because of the intensity and duration of the drought and the amount of water in lakes Buchanan and Travis on March 1.
The determination affects customers in the Gulf Coast, Lakeside and Pierce Ranch agricultural operations. These customers contract for “interruptible water,” which is curtailed or cut back during droughts. The next time water from lakes Buchanan and Travis could be available to these customers is after March 1, 2026.
This year, customers in the Garwood Agricultural Division will be entitled to a limited amount of water, including a maximum of 18,100 acre-feet from the Highland Lakes, under terms of the purchase agreement of the Garwood water rights.
