Saturday, July 15, 2000 -- City eases water restrictions (Samuel Segrist) For the first time in 11 months, city leaders have loosened Abilene’s water use restrictions. Mayor Grady Barr announced Friday the consumption limit that triggers the next phase of the drought restriction ordinance, which would ban all outdoor sprinkling, is no longer effective.

Saturday, July 15, 2000 -- Area residents speak out about water issues The following comments were solicited before Friday’s action by Abilene Mayor Grady Barr to ease the usage restrictions of the city’s ordinance concerning water use during droughts. The respondents were asked, “How would you solve the area’s long-term water needs beyond building a pipeline to Ivie Reservoir?’’

Saturday, July 15, 2000 -- Water authority upset with Boone Pickens 'scheme' (PAM EASTON) LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - A spokesman for the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority complained Friday that T. Boone Pickens has been misrepresenting it in his efforts to hawk his water in other parts of Texas.

Friday, July 14, 2000 -- Waves of conflict mar Ivie’s history (Larry Zelisko) The history of O.H. Ivie Reservoir is about as exciting as a hot day at the lake when the fish aren’t biting. The story of Stacy Reservoir is more like paddling down a raging river while dodging dangerous boulders.

Friday, July 14, 2000 -- Pipeline details go unnoticed (Samuel Segrist) Pipelines are awesome projects that don’t inspire much awe. The majority of the work remains underground and often the only indication of a line’s presence is a clear patch of land and an occasional “burp” valve.

Friday, July 14, 2000 -- Graham agrees to share water supply with Throckmorton (Larry Zelisko) GRAHAM — A light rain fell on a delegation of Throckmorton residents as they made the 40-mile drive Thursday to appear before the Graham City Council.

Friday, July 14, 2000 -- Abilene shares restrictions with companies, cities buying water (Samuel Segrist) The four cities and seven water supply companies to which Abilene sells water are connected to the Key City through more than just a pipeline.

Thursday, July 13, 2000 -- Water tied to Big Country development (Doug Williamson) “Water is vital to life, and water is vital to economic development.” That’s the simple truth from Bill Ehrie, president of the Abilene Industrial Foundation.

Thursday, July 13, 2000 -- Abilene water prices follow supply cost, curve (Samuel Segrist) The price of Abilene water follows a simple philosophy — you pay for what you get. While the available water supply has shrunk, the price of water in Abilene has grown slightly this year. But the city still ranks around the median in the state for the costs of water and of use of the sewer system.

Thursday, July 13, 2000 -- Businesses dependent on water focus on diversity (Bobby Horecka) Bill Swenson isn’t having much trouble finding yards to mow since Mother Nature finally decided to let it rain again in June.

Thursday, July 13, 2000 -- WTU looks to lakes to cool generators (Doug Williamson) Chris Bissett’s eyes are trained on three Big Country lakes. Those water supplies — Lake Fort Phantom Hill, Lake Stamford and Oak Creek Lake — help determine whether West Texas Utilities customers will have electricity.

Thursday, July 13, 2000 -- Stephenville City Council turns to alternative sources (Larry Zelisko) STEPHENVILLE — The defeat of a bond election for water supply improvements leaves the Stephenville City Council looking at alternatives. “There still seems to be a concern among citizens that we need more water,” said Ed Horton, chairman of the council’s water planning committee.

Thursday, July 13, 2000 -- Dust Bowl tales - Soil scientist recalls ‘land on the move’ (Bill Whitaker) While city officials, water consultants and politicians endlessly debate lakes, pipelines and water restrictions, 93-year-old Ralph Schwartz simply awaits a good east wind.

Wednesday, July 12, 2000 -- Dyess takes No. 1 water users spot (Samuel Segrist) It takes a lot of water to protect the nation’s skies. Dyess Air Force Base, with more than 5,000 people working and/or living there, easily took more H2O from the Abilene water utility in 1999 than any other customer. The base has long been the city’s biggest water consumer.

Wednesday, July 12, 2000 -- City water rates high on quality, low on chemicals (Loretta Fulton) Abilene may not have much water, but what it does have tastes great. That’s because it’s less filling in terms of chemical content.

Wednesday, July 12, 2000 -- Throckmorton in market for water supply (Ken Ellsworth) Throckmorton city officials hope to strike a deal to buy water from nearby cities — and the deal needs to be made quickly.

Wednesday, July 12, 2000 -- Water supply puts firefighters in hot seat - Dry times turn departments to other resources (John Starbuck) Dwindling water supplies will require firefighters to use resources wisely in battling grass fires this summer, fire officials say. As pastures continue to brown because of inadequate moisture, the need to find available water sources becomes crucial.

Wednesday, July 12, 2000 -- Water witching: The misunderstood ‘science’ (Ken Ellsworth) Though scientists don’t approve, many West Texans still rely on the ancient art of “water witching” in their search for scarce underground water.

Wednesday, July 12, 2000 -- Dryness of ’80s prepared area for drought of today (Samuel Segrist) Consider it a 1980s mid-term exam for the end-of-the-millennium final. The drought of 1983-84 does not come close to matching the severity of the dry spell that has parched the Big Country since 1997. SIDEBAR: City’s restrictions work to curb demand for limited water supply

Wednesday, July 12, 2000 -- Brush control project expected to increase runoff - Eliminating water-using vegetation should bolster reservoirs, creeks (Bobby Horecka) Any longtime West Texas rancher can share more than a few stories about his days in the back country, plucking thorns from his hands while he hacks his way through unwanted cedars, mesquites and prickly pear cactus.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 -- ‘Well water’ signs dot city after restrictions (Jason Gibbs) Abilene homeowners are looking beneath their browning lawns in an effort to keep their vegetation green. City officials estimate there are between 300 and 350 private residential wells in the Abilene area. And more are being drilled every day.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 -- Big Country benefits from underground source - Knox, Haskell counties band together to protect limited water resource (Ken Ellsworth) Unlike most Big Country counties, Knox and Haskell counties have the enviable position of sitting atop a huge underground water supply — the Seymour Aquifer.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 -- Regional cooperation may be solution to Big Country water shortage (Reporter-News Staff Reports) Lingering drought has hit many Big Country towns with a double whammy. First, agriculture, on which many small-town economies rely, has suffered. Lack of water has hurt crops and pastures, diminishing farmers’ harvests and forcing ranchers to sell off cattle.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 -- Big Country towns stop waiting for water, start drilling (Ken Ellsworth) With their lakes and reservoirs drying up, Colorado City and Sweetwater were forced to literally go to the well to supply residents’ water needs. Drilling wells and pumping underground water might tide the cities over during the drought and continue to supplement surface water supplies afterward, officials decided.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 -- Water pipes lead to wave of problems - Abilene works to fix old lines one at a time (Samuel Segrist) It isn’t exactly glory work. Red ceramic pieces of an old sewer line lay along a trench in an alley between Palm and Poplar streets. Dogs, the only spectators available, stared through chain-link fences and occasionally yapped at the water workers laboring in and out of the freshly dug 4-foot hole.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 -- Droughts prove man not so mighty (Bill Whitaker) No sooner had water from the rain-swollen Clear Fork of the Brazos been discharged into parched Lake Fort Phantom Hill than drought-weary Abilene officials began considering scaling back public water restrictions — and with the worst of summer yet to come.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 -- Cloud seeding questions arise (George Flickinger - Opinion) Does cloud seeding work? If so, how much rain does it make? What problems does it create? Everyone wants to know these answers about cloud seeding, yet it’s hard to answer some of the simplest questions on the issue.

Monday, July 10, 2000 -- Water-supply problems plague much of nation (Joan Lowy) Along with backyard barbecues and family vacations, drought and water shortages have increasingly become a rite of summer for many Americans. SIDEBAR: State strives to implement water law (Anna M. Tinsley) Scripps Howard Austin Bureau

Monday, July 10, 2000 -- Brazos River counties working together - Need to find resources, project water demand creates planning team (Jerry Daniel Reed) Members of the Brazos G Regional Water Planning Group may seem like strange bedfellows, but they’re more like people paddling the same boat down the Brazos River.

Monday, July 10, 2000 -- Hubbard Creek Reservoir was area’s answer to earlier drought (Jerry Daniel Reed) Hubbard Creek Reservoir proved a model water supply for Abilene and three of its neighbors during the droughty 1940s and ’50s.

Monday, July 10, 2000 -- Lack of water gives Texans something to fight for - Securing water supply pits communities against others (Anna M. Tinsley) AUSTIN — “Whiskey’s for drinking. Water’s for fighting about.” Mark Twain didn’t live to see this drought-stricken Texas.

Sunday, July 9, 2000 -- Water means survival for Big Country (Samuel Segrist) It still hadn’t rained, so it was Don Drennan’s turn to talk to God. “Great Father, our land is in a terrible plight. The very earth groans for water. We beseech you to send rain in this time of great need so we may continue to grow and live through your name ...”

Sunday, July 9, 2000 -- Abilene’s weather history has its ups and downs (Jerry Daniel Reed) If global warming is a reality, it couldn’t be proved by Abilene. At least, not yet.

Sunday, July 9, 2000 -- Conservation crucial to survive droughts (Jerry Daniel Reed) Almost two generations have passed since Abilene and its neighbors made it through their longest and severest drought.

Sunday, July 9, 2000 -- Abilene’s water sources: Different sizes, same purpose (Samuel Segrist) Sayre Island, reached by driving over a narrow dirt road — water to one side, mud and weeds on the other — doesn’t show a lot of signs of its purpose on Hubbard Creek Reservoir.

Sunday, July 9, 2000 -- Stephenville bond issue for pipeline loses steam STEPHENVILLE — A proposed $12 million bond issue for water system improvements in the city of Stephenville was rejected by voters Saturday in one of the largest turnouts in recent years.

Sunday, July 9, 2000 -- Kelton novel of drought and despair still resonates (Bill Whitaker) SAN ANGELO — Every several years, when the clouds slip off and the sun beats down and West Texas and everything on it withers and wastes away, newspapermen, scholars and filmmakers come calling on Elmer Kelton.