LCRA press release on drought

BSEACD Drought Stage: remains in Critical
Barton Springs Flow: 32 cfs and falling
Lovelady Well: 196.6 ft (depth to water)

The LCRA issued a press release last week about water supplies and the drought. Below are some highlights:

• Despite scattered rainfall, the Colorado River basin remains in a severe drought that is affecting water supply... the current drought is more intense than the drought of the 1950s. What is different, so far, is the duration of the current drought, which has lasted almost three years compared to the 10 years of the drought of record.

• Current conditions include record low volumes of water, or inflows, flowing from tributaries into the Highland Lakes, the region’s water supply reservoirs. In addition, the region has received below-normal rainfall for the past two years, the third driest such period on record, with only 35.25 inches of rain in Austin compared to 67 inches on average. Record high temperatures in 2008 and 2009 have also contributed to the intensity of the drought.

• A two-year comparison of inflows, or the amount of water flowing into the Highland Lakes, shows a deficit of almost 400,000 acre-feet below the average inflows recorded during the 1950s drought. By comparison, the City of Austin draws for its municipal use about 160,000 acre-feet of water per year.

Click here for a link to the LCRA press release.