Austin
Austin straddles the Colorado River, which flows Southeasterly from west Texas to the Gulf of Mexico. Austin averages about 34" of rain a year, but that varies widely from 40". Late spring and early fall often bring floods.
Before a series of 6 dams was constructed along the Colorado, the first about 60 miles upstream and the last in east Austin, downtown Austin routinely flooded. The lakes and reservoirs are used for drinking water, irrigation, recreation, and flood control. Two of the lakes are flood control reservoirs, the other four are "constant level" lakes. On rainy years, such as 2007 (the year without summer and coldest July in Austin history) the flood control lakes fill to capacity.
The current drought rivals those in the mid 1950s and mid 1920s. The danger is that, like the 1920s drought the preceded the Dust Bowl, this one will be widespread and devestating. We had a couple of inches of rain last Sunday, the first rain since June, and the lake levels are up about a foot.
Among the many issues facing Austin's water supply is that this is a very rapidlby growing area; people are moving here from the Northeast, California, and the upper Midwest, drawn by lower taxes, more jobs, a strong economy, and a right-to-work mentality. The increase in deman for fresh water is exacerbated by the fact that the River Authority guarantees suffiecient water flow to rice farmers near the Gulf Coast, who need the water for irrigation. When supply runs low, as in this draught, contracts that were drawn up when Austin was 1/3 or 2/3 of the size it is today don't take into account the current level of demand for water use of close to 2 milliion people in the Highland Lakes area.
The worst offenders are commercial properties who water their landscapes by the clock; we often see their sprinkler systems flooding the streets with overflow, even on rainy days.
Excessive heat and drought are not strangers to us. This year is especially bad, and if it continues, it will get worse. One must remember that it was just 4 years ago that we had our coldest summer ever and had 45" of rain in 9 months time. It's a shame that the river authority let most of it out the flood gates and didn't save enough for a "dry day".
San Antonio has been much smarter. They don't sit on a chain of lakes. "Texas' second-largest city is weathering the state's historic drought better than most cities because of innovative water conservation techniques in place for more than a decade.
"They include year-round water restrictions, dual-flush toilets in thousands of homes and businesses, and the keen eye of the "Water Police," off-duty San Antonio police officers who drive around enforcing water-restriction rules"
