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Friday, May 9, 1997

Many Texas lakes fuller, but drought not over everywhere

By KELLEY SHANNON / Associated Press Writer

DEL RIO, Texas (AP) - The bright, white limestone banks of Lake Amistad aren't quite as bare as they were heading into last summer.

Like other reservoirs that suffered amid the severe drought, Lake Amistad is fuller now. The deep lake remains 36 feet below normal, but it had dipped to an all-time low of 51 feet below normal in August.

"So we've come up about 14-1/2 or 15 feet since then," said Kate Hammond, spokesman for Amistad National Recreation Area. "The boating is great. There's plenty of water."

At Lake Tawakoni east of Dallas, the picture is even rosier.

"Much, much, much improved," said Judy Mince of the Sabine River Authority, which oversees the lake.

Though the drought isn't over everywhere, many reservoirs in Texas are on the rebound, thanks to significant rainfall in the autumn and spring.

And lake users are thrilled.

Susan Zito, who works at Lake Tawakoni RV Center near the reservoir, described the reservoir this way:

"It's high. It's good. Everybody's fishing in it and catching fish," she said. "My mother-in-law has got water in her boat house for the first time in about a year!"

The lake is more than a half-foot above normal, while last year at this time it was nearly 5 feet below normal. It reached its lowest point - 8.7 feet below normal - in October.

In Central Texas, Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis also have rebounded.

"Both lakes are full. In fact, Travis is a little bit over full," said Bill McCann, spokesman for the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Lake Buchanan is about 5 feet above its usual May average, and Lake Travis is more than 11 feet above its May average, McCann said.

But in West Texas, those who oversee water-supply reservoirs near Big Spring and Snyder haven't noticed much difference since last summer.

"We're still in a critical drought up here," said John Grant, general manager of the Colorado River Municipal Water District.

Lake J.B. Thomas was 5.6 percent full last year at this time, and now it's 6.4 percent full. E.V. Spence Reservoir was 28.6 percent full this time last year. Currently it is 25.5 percent full.

Farther downstream, Lake O.H. Ivie is 89 percent full, down from 93 percent this time last year.

The drought also persists in the Rio Grande Valley, where farmers and cities rely on water from Amistad and Falcon Lake.

That supply is at 40 percent of capacity, up from 37.5 percent of capacity this time last year, said Julian Perales, river operations manager with the Rio Grande Watermaster office in McAllen.

Spring is peak irrigation time, but rainfall on farm land has reduced demand for irrigation water from the reservoirs, Perales said.

"Though we're not out of the drought by any means down here, we've made up some ground because we've had some rain," he said.

Few in severely drought-stricken areas are willing to guess what the rest of the spring and the summer hold in store. They're braced for more dry weather. They're hoping for adequate precipitation.

"Ask the rain god," said Ms. Hammond at Lake Amistad.

John Grant at the water district in Big Spring said, "I've been out here long enough to know that I don't predict the weather." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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