Are any Texans here being affected by the drought?

[zanana1]

I watched the news this morning and it broke my heart to see that the rain that was expected by Hurrican Don didn't happen. Do you know if any beef farmers, milkers or chicken farmers are selling their animals to northern states where there is water? (Or western states)?

[txwhitedove]

1. Houston area here. Yesterday was dark, lightening, rain at work but not at my house

only 10-mles away. I'm not affected economically, but my yard burned up in June. Signs in another neighborhood in screaming red letters about water conservation VOLUNTARY -- EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! Huh?

[DFW]

2. No idea

I haven't been home since April (stationed overseas). I'll be back in Mid-August (nice and cool this year, I hear).

[Laura PourMeADrink]

3. yes, cattlemen are selling their cattle because they can not

feed them (good grass) and don't have enough water. Ironically, the prices for cattle
are very high now. But, if you sell a hundred head, you have got to replace them
when the rain comes, probably at too high a price.

being in Texas this summer is like a living hell. you might as well just wipe
June, July, and August off for any outdoor plans, whatsoever. You literally have
to stay indoors.

[zanana1]

24. I was talking to a local farmer here in NH...

And it seems the drought is making some people suffer, but some people are benefiting from it. My farmer friend is selling his hay at a premium these days. He's having a banner year.

[kentauros]

25. I was reading about how donkeys are being abandoned

due to the drought, too:

Texas Donkeys Being Abandoned Because Of Drought

<snip>

"Donkeys, especially in Texas, are overpopulated and hold no financial value," says the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue group.

:(

[kentauros]

4. I live in Houston and don't know any farmers.

There was a story recently about the USDA declaring all Texas counties as disaster areas due to losses of 30% or more. We have 213 counties here ;)

Also, the drought is breaking water mains across the city. As the ground dries up, it shrinks and then shifts. Water pipes break and there are so many that they often remain broken for weeks, if not longer. Here's a story in the Houston Press about home-owners taking advantage of that, and good for them, I say! :D

Water Main Breaks: Use Them to Water Your Lawn!

[ashling]

14. Correction: 252 counties

otherwise you are spot on

I was out walking my dog the other morning and forgot to take water for Rocky. We just followed the water main leak home and he got to drink all the way

[kentauros]

22. Thanks for the correction.

I should have looked it up :)

There's a waterline break on my way home I've been driving through for a couple of weeks not. I noticed the city had put some orange cones out, I guess to mark it for the crews to fix, but it's still pumping the water out...

[meow2u3]

5. My family lives in the northern Dallas suburbs

I get calls from my older sister about the state of the Texas drought. Her electric bill is through the roof!

[Kali]

6. hay is in very short supply all over the country, due to freaky weather

too much rain some places, none in others
here in AZ, Cattlegrowers set up a fund to help buy hay for folks who were affected by the fires

[Philippine expat]

7. A better question would be are there any Texans NOT

affected by the drought.
Ranchers are selling animals, farmers will have no crops, home owners are seeing the foundations to their homes crack,
kids are being being restricted to indoor activities, everyones electric bills are soaring, water rationing has started
in many places and is looming in many more.. So IMO the affect is almost 100%

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Foundations cracking??????????????

why?

[Texasgal]

9. Yup.

I have to use a drip line on my foundation or it will crack. I already have a small crack starting in the front of my house. I have to drip at least twice a week.

[Angry Dragon]

10. Many people have basements there??

When I was in Houston many years ago everything was being built on floating slabs.........

[Texasgal]

11. Not many basements.

Pier and Beam and slab is popular.

[kentauros]

21. Normally, you can't have basements here,

because the water table is no more than two meters down. I've "struck water" just digging four-foot deep post-holes! Swimming pools work because they are usually gunite concrete and then filled with water, so generally no cracking and leaking. Swimming pool contractors usually have a portable pump available for when they have to pump the water out prior to putting in the concrete.

One other reason there were rarely any basements here (other than skyscrapers) is that before the advent of concrete foundations, houses were built pier-and-beam style. Not because it was "popular" back then, but because it allowed air-circulation under the house. That's very important in our climate when there's not a/c, like a hundred years ago :)

[sammytko]

15. The shrinking of the soil makes the concrete slab unstable and crack.

My house is old and is on cedar posts - much better I think. Its been standing for 90 years!

[rurallib]

16. Happened to me @20 years ago.

then someone told me to water around the foundation in a drought.
I put a very thick layer of mulch around it also.

[MrsBrady]

20. in North Texas

much of the land is clay. it shrinks when dry, expands when wet.

pier and beam is better to build on, but many modern homes were built with concrete slab foundations (cheap).
they are unstable.

[seabeyond]

26. this is becoming a horrible problem with our house last month, couple weeks.

downstairs in my husbands room, walking thru dooway, i see the gap in fram. asked hubby about it and he told me about the issue with all the dryness. we are seeing a big problem. i am concerned. he says he is not worried.

yes, with the cracks and shifting.

[sammytko]

12. we went into water restrictions a couple of weeks ago but not because of drought

small town with three water wells, but only one working. It went out and in order not to overwork the new one, they cut us to lawn watering fro 6-10 in morning and 6-10 in evening.
But water and other services attached to it have gone up. Our bill was almost 200 dollars - trash and sewer included. They are trying to raise money to repair the other two wells. It is hot and I got tired of trying to keep my tomatoes alive, so I pulled them.

We have underground water and we haven't been told it is going dry. The other aquifer north of us is always in the news, but it serves over a million people and they are on mandatory restrictions.

Actually you can hand water all day long - just no sprinklers.

[ashling]

13. Are there any Texans here

We are ALL affected by the drought down here

[Xipe Totec]

17. South, South Texas

These are my stomping grounds, though I live in Boston now. But I'm down here visiting.

I was hoping for a gullywasher but it didn't happen. It was a bust. :(

[kentauros]

23. Yeah, Don was a major letdown.

Did you happen to catch the radar image when it hit land? It was like it suddenly hit a wall of heat and could go no further! The radar echoes literally stopped right at the shore :o

We had a good thread on it in the Texas forum, too:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=180x69734

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. I find that very strange.

Last year, several tropical storms which were developing out in the Gulf ( around Fla) were predicted to grow, I checked the report before bedtime, and the next morning, there were ...gone.
Not diminished, as one would expect, simply not there at all.

Really puzzled me, since there should have been at least a downgrade to a tropical depression or at least, thunderstorms remaining,
But no, nothing was there, nothing showed on radar, not a drop.

[susanr516]

18. The whole state is suffering

I live in Corpus Christi, which isn't as bad as some parts, but the only grass left here is where people are watering. This is the second drought season in the last five years and there are mature trees that are dying from the stress. We haven't mowed our lawn in two months. Even the native plants are suffering. The only green things left are cacti and mesquite trees.

[MrsBrady]

19. everyone is being affected

all but the most north eastern counties are in drought.

yes...all