No Drought
Lovelady well height: 495 ft-msl (158 ft-Depth to Water)
Barton Springs approximately: 45 cfs (10-day average)
· How close are drought triggers to Stage II Alarm Drought thresholds? (last updated 1/10/20)
o Barton Springs 10-day average discharge is at 47 cfs and continues to decline towards the drought trigger threshold of 38 cfs.
o The water level in the Lovelady Monitor Well is 17 feet above the Stage II Alarm Drought threshold (478.4 feet above mean sea level). It is expected to cross its threshold in mid-February.
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 1/10/20)
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 1/10/20)?
What is the drought response from other area water agencies (updated 1/10/20)?
Edwards Aquifer Authority:
o
No drought conditions
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
No drought restrictions
Lower Colorado River Authority:
o
Currently no declared drought.
o
Water storage in Lakes Travis and Buchanan are
currently at 87% full (1,748,038 acre feet, 1/10/20). 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.
Hays-Trinity Groundwater Conservation District:
o
No drought conditions
