Amid Texas Drought, High-Stakes Battle Over Water

[phantom power]

On the cliffs surrounding Lake Buchanan in Central Texas, a white ring extends some 13 feet above the shoreline, marking where the water reaches when the lake is full. At nearby Lake Travis, staircases that once led to the water’s edge now end well above it.

These two lakes serve as key water sources for dozens of cities and hundreds of farmers, as well as for several power plants. With Texas gripped by drought, water levels have fallen sharply. Combined, the two lakes now hold 28 percent less water than their long-term average.

“This is scary,” said Janet Caylor, who owns two marinas on Lake Travis, the larger of the two lakes, and has had to move her docks as lake levels drop.

The current drought, drier than any other October-through-May stretch in Texas history, has heightened the stakes in an already contentious long-term planning battle over water from these lakes, which feed the lower Colorado River as it runs southeast to the Gulf of Mexico. It has pitted fast-growing cities like Austin, which depend on the water for drinking and recreation, against rice farmers near the Gulf, who need vast amounts of water for irrigation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/us/19ttwater.html?_r=1

[WCGreen]

1. It's not really a drought....

Perhaps it is more of a case of over use of a scarce resource...

From What I understand, Texas population has grown faster than almost any other state...

[flamin lib]

4. No, it's a drought. Corn crop has failed, cotton in deep trouble. nt

[hatrack]

5. See also . . .

http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Growing rice in such an environment is nothing short of insane.

The same thing is being done in CA, and though our situation is not as dire, it is serious.

I wonder if the farmers in Texas are being charged the full price of the water. They might come to their senses if they were.

[snappyturtle]

3. The article says the farmers get the water cheaper. I remember a 60 Minutes

program that highlighted that many rice farmers, particularly those around Houston, have found it more 'lucrative' not to plant because of gov't. subsidies. I really would like to hear that again.

It is a drought contrary to what some may think. I talked with my ex- in Kerrville Texas, northof San Antonio, and he said he doesn't think they've gotten an inch of rain total since I moved after the divorce, June 2010! I was there for an eighteen month drought and that was bad. I can't imagine this one.

[chalky]

6. The stakes are even higher for the residents in Llano

who depend on the Llano river for their drinking water.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/drought-could-dry-llano-river-by-weeks-end-1542491.html

It's looking like the river could dry up by the end of the week.