Monday, July 16, 2018

Stage II Alarm Drought Declaration on July 12th 2018


Aquifer District Declares Stage II Alarm Drought


The District’s Board of Directors declared Stage II Alarm Drought at the July 12th Board Meeting.  The 10-day average discharge at Barton Springs, one of the District’s two drought trigger sites, has passed below the Stage II Alarm Drought threshold of 38 cubic feet per second. Lovelady monitor well, the District’s second drought-trigger site, is less than 1 foot above its drought threshold (water level elevation of 478.4 feet above mean sea level). Only one of the two drought stage triggers needs to be reached for a drought declaration to be made.

The last groundwater drought declaration ended on January 30, 2015—over 3 years ago.  Recharge associated with years of above average rainfall has helped maintain water levels in the area aquifers until recently.  Since May of this year, both flow at Barton Springs and the water level at the Lovelady monitor well have been declining.  Recent rainfall has not generated the runoff needed to sustain creek flow in the creeks and rivers that recharge the aquifers.

Declaration of Stage II Alarm Drought requires all District’s permittees to implement mandatory measures specified in their User Drought Contingency Plans to meet monthly pumpage reduction requirements.  All permittees must achieve at least a 20% reduction in monthly pumpage.  Permittees with conditional permits have to reduce use even further.  End-user customers served by water utilities on groundwater wells are required to comply with their utility’s water use restrictions for this drought stage.  Generally, restricting outdoor water use, including limiting landscape irrigation, pool filling & refilling, and non-essential water use such as water fountains, is sufficient to reach monthly pumpage targets for Stage II Alarm Drought.  August will be the first full month of declared drought, and therefore, it will be the first month of compliance assessments for drought curtailments. 

Useful links:

Drought status page:  http://bseacd.org/aquifer-science/drought-status/

Press release archive:  http://bseacd.org/publications/press-releases/

Drought management page:  http://bseacd.org/regulatory/drought-management/

Water Conservation & Protection page: http://bseacd.org/education/water-conservation/



Talking Points for Approaching Stage II Alarm Drought Talking Points


·         How close are drought triggers to Stage II Alarm Drought thresholds?  (last updated 7/15/18)
o   Barton Springs 10-day average discharge has crossed below the drought trigger threshold of 38 cfs.
o   The water level in the Lovelady Monitor Well is less than 2 feet above the Stage II Alarm Drought threshold (478.4 feet above mean sea level).  It is expected to cross its threshold in the coming week.
o   Only one drought trigger below its threshold required to enter into drought.

·         What does Stage II Alarm Drought mean for homeowners?
o   Water utilities using groundwater are required to cut back their monthly pumping by at least 20%.
o   Consequently, all end users that get their water from groundwater will have to reduce their water use.
o   Check your water bill for monthly water use—should be below 4,000 gallons a person.
o   Restrict outdoor watering.  Follow your water utility’s watering restrictions. 

·         What is the weather outlook for the next few months? (last updated 6/28/18)
o   U.S. Drought Outlook is predicting a drier than average August - October. 
o   Discharge and water levels are in steady decline; it will take consistent rainfall to saturate the soils to allow runoff to fill creeks.  We need enough rainfall so creeks flow consistently for a few weeks—preferably a few months—since the majority of the recharge to the aquifer comes when creeks flow across the recharge zone.

·         Where should people go to find out more information?
o   Our website… www.bseacd.org or google ‘Barton Springs Aquifer District’.



·         What is the drought response from other area water agencies (updated 7/15/18)?
Edwards Aquifer Authority:
o   San Antonio Pool under Stage 2 restrictions (30% curtailment)  based on 10-day average values for J-17 (current reading:  642.7msl;  Stage 3 threshold 640msl, Stage 4 threshold 630msl).  Comal Springs flow is currently 194 cfs, the threshold level for Stage 2 is 200, Stage III is 150.  San Marcos Springs is at 131cfs, which is well above the 80cfs Stage 2 trigger level.
o   News Release (6/11/18):  San Antonio moves to Stage 2 outdoor water limits
o   EAA Critical Stage Info (Triggers, Stages and Reductions)

City of Austin: 
o   City of Austin is in Conservation Stage Restrictions (automatic irrigation limited to 1 day per week, before 10am or after 7pm)
o   Follows LCRA drought triggers (see next section).

City of San Marcos
o   Stage 2 Water Restrictions went into effect on 6/17/2018 (lawn irrigation limited to 1 day per week)

Lower Colorado River Authority:
o   Currently no declared drought.
o   Water storage in Lakes Travis and Buchanan are currently at 75% full (1,509,032 acre feet, 7/15/2018).  Check real time Lake Volumes.
o   When lakes reach 900,000 acre feet, firm water customers required to reduce water use by 10-20%, and LCRA starts curtailment of interruptible permits and environmental flow allocations.

Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority:
o   Currently no declared drought.
o   See 2011 Drought Contingency Plan for more info. 

Hays-Trinity Groundwater Conservation District:
o   Drought Stage 2, Alarm declared on June 28, 2018
o   20% curtailment of pumping