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Sunday, July 16, 2000

Most of Texas hit by shortage, uncertain future
By Anna M. Tinsley
Reporter-News Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — Recent droughts in Texas have driven farmers and ranchers out of business, drained already-low water supplies and cost agricultural producers more than $4 billion.

Now, as Texas enters its fourth drought in five years, more than half of the state’s 254 counties have received drought disaster declarations and 43 counties are under outdoor burning bans.

To try to stretch the state’s shrinking water supply, state officials have launched a conservation program, “Water Smart 2000,’’ to urge Texans to use water wisely. The program offers tips on water conservation in the home, from fixing leaks to turning off faucets not in use. A media campaign of television and radio ads in English and Spanish will be aired statewide through Sept. 31.

Seemingly no region of Texas has been spared from water supply shortages.

Reservoirs are at 78.8 percent of their capacity, the third-lowest capacity for a June in 23 years, and officials in charge of 126 community water systems have begun rationing to prevent water shortages.

Eight of the state’s 10 climatic regions are in a mild-to-severe drought. Only two regions escaped that designation — the High Plains, which includes Lubbock and Amarillo, and the Low Rolling Plains, which includes counties stretching from Wheeler to Coleman and Wichita to Borden.

But even cities in those regions, such as Abilene in the Low Rolling Plains, suffer from the drought. It’s just the regions as a whole that are doing well, said Tommy Knowles, deputy executive administrator for planning at the Texas Water Development Board.

Water officials hope Texans know that while recent showers helped parts of the state, more than a handful of rains is needed to quench a years-long drought. Meteorologists predict that Central West Texas will continue to be under severe to extreme drought conditions through August.

“We are certainly far from being out of a drought-like situation,’’ said John Sutton, assistant division director of conservation for the water development board. “And all the forecasts show these conditions will continue at least until mid-summer.’’

The problem, Sutton said, is that Texas hasn’t fully recovered from either the 1996 or 1998 droughts.

“When conditions improved, we were able to coast,’’ he said. “But one year’s (rain) deficit is building on top of the previous year’s deficits.’’

Meteorologists say steady, constant rains are needed to relieve the drought.

Lubbock and Amarillo had wet winters. But El Paso and communities northeast from Del Rio through San Angelo and Abilene are exceedingly dry.

“Who knows what the future holds? Mother Nature plays a big part in it, but we’ve seen what Texas can experience in a drought,’’ said state Sen. J.E. “Buster” Brown, R-Lake Jackson.

“Droughts are no longer unusual. They’re a routine thing,’’ said Brown, chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee. “People used to be concerned just about their area. But now they know that when one part of the state hurts, the whole state hurts. We all have to do what we can.’’

Conservation is especially necessary because dwindling water supplies could leave future Texans waterless, officials said.

The state’s population of 20 million is expected to double in the next 50 years. If the state doesn’t save water and develop new supplies, population demands will lead to a 35-percent shortfall statewide by 2050, records show.

Now Texans are doing what they can to make sure their communities have enough water supplies for the future. Some actions include:

Buying up water rights.

Texas oilman and entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens started buying groundwater rights in the Texas Panhandle earlier this year.

He sent a letter to the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group in which he proposed sending 200,000 acre-feet of water a year to South Texas from Roberts County. An acre-foot of water is 325,851 gallons, enough to cover an acre with one foot of water.

No deal has been made yet.

Pickens followed in the footsteps of Fort Worth’s Bass brothers, Ed and Lee, who bought about 45,000 acres of water rights in California. They sold the rights in 1997 to U.S. Filter, a water provider, for $250 million.

Making saltwater drinkable.

Texas officials are considering an alternative they’ve shied away from before: turning saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico into drinking water.

The Lavaca-Navidad River Authority is spearheading a proposal to build a desalinization plant on Matagorda Bay near Victoria. This potential alternate water supply, if proven to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly, could be especially beneficial during droughts.

Early calculations show the proposed plan could produce up to 100,000 acre-feet of water each year. The Texas Water Development Board approved a $59,000 research grant to study the possibility.

Adding to supplies.

The Lower Colorado River Authority made a landmark deal in 1998 when it bought water rights from Garwood Irrigation for about $75 million.

The purchase — the largest known in Texas — ensures that LCRA has enough water for drinking and industrial use in Central Texas through the next century. It brings the authority another 43 billion gallons of water each year.

The LCRA provides water to customers in 33 counties stretching from near Abilene southeast to Bay City on the Gulf Coast. Garwood is a privately owned irrigation business that supplies water to farmers in Colorado and Wharton counties.

Cutting off car washes.

San Angelo officials have implemented a water conservation plan aimed at maintaining at least a year’s supply of water in its nearest lakes — Twin Buttes, O.C. Fisher and Nasworthy.

Outside watering has been restricted but residents may still water once a week, unlike other area communities that have banned all outside watering.

City Council members have also urged school groups, churches and other nonprofit organizations not to hold fund-raising car washes. The city doesn’t want activities that would encourage residents to wash cars more than necessary or that involve having hoses running for several hours during the heat of the day.

The city’s water conservation and drought plan also includes provisions that restrict car washing to five gallons per car, unless done at a commercial car wash.

Banning outside watering.

Cities statewide are putting water-rationing ordinances in place to prevent water waste.

Residents of West Texas’ Runnels County know about conserving water. The problem is, they don’t have much to conserve.

Wells that families relied on for years are drying up, and more and more families must pay the county to haul water to them.

Residents in the county’s two largest cities — Ballinger and Winters — are in the third stage of water conservation, which bars all outside watering.

Requiring treaty compliance.

Since 1992, Mexico has fallen short of meeting obligations required by a 1944 water treaty.

The treaty requires Mexico to provide the Lower Rio Grande Valley with at least 350,000 acre-feet of water a year during a five-year cycle. In return, the United States provides water from the Colorado River to Mexico.

Mexican officials say their water deficit of 1.4 million acre-feet is caused by unusually low levels of water and that they need to take care of their own farmers and ranchers.

Texas congressional lawmakers sent a letter to President Clinton, stressing the importance of repayment of the water.

State Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs said she has spoken with other state officials from Gov. George W. Bush to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, trying to resolve the situation.

“Mexico has agreed to begin paying off this debt, but the water repayments will not be fast enough for our border producers who are suffering,’’ Combs said. “I am acutely aware of the devastating effect this is having on our agricultural community. ... We are committed to finding a resolution.’’

Contact Austin Bureau writer Anna M. Tinsley at (512) 478-9644 or tinsleya@scripps.com.