An Interactive Look at the Texas Drought

Background

Just how much damage has the record single-year drought done to Texas? For the first time, you can see an interactive map and several visualizations that show just how severe the drought has been. On our new interactive web app, ’Dried Out: Confronting the Texas Drought,’ you can see the intensity of the worst single-year drought in Texas’ history; learn more about the hard choices the state has to make; see the drought’s progression and its impact on the state; explore the pros and cons of the policy decisions that need to be made and share your stories.

See for yourself at our new interactive webpage, Dried Out: Confronting the Texas Drought.

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May 17, 2013

While Drought Improves for Some, Many Texas Reservoirs Fall to New Lows

Statewide reservoir levels are at their lowest point ever for this time of year, according to National Weather Service Southern Region climate program manager Victor Murphy. Murphy says many reservoir levels have not changed much since November, which is when reservoirs are typically at their lowest. “Quite honestly we should be higher,” Murphy says. “We [...]

May 9, 2013

Statewide Drought Worsens

Some of the Texas panhandle drought conditions worsened in the past week, according to maps from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

More than two percent of Texas worsened to exceptional drought from last week. The U.S. Drought Monitor maps released today show more of the panhandle in the most serious drought category. Last week, just over 10 percent of the state was considered to be in exceptional drought- now it’s pushing 13 percent. The second most [...]

April 25, 2013

2013 Brings Bad Spring for Some Texas Farmers

Recent rains helped pull more of the state out of drought- but 92 percent of Texas is still experiencing at least a moderate drought and in some of the state drought has worsened. The U.S. Drought Monitor maps released Thursday morning show a slight decrease from last week in the percent of the state facing [...]

April 11, 2013

Hurricanes May Be Needed to Help Pull Texas Out of Drought

Some parts of the state may find themselves in the strange position of actually needing hurricanes this summer. Victor Murphy, climate program manager at National Weather Service Southern Region, says tropical storm landfall could be the best hope to get rain to parts of Texas that desperately need it. Even though much of the state experienced some [...]

April 4, 2013

In Texas, Underground Reservoirs Take Hold

Low reservoir levels, like here at the North end of Lake Travis, have some advocating for storing more water underground, where it won't evaporate.

From the Texas Tribune: Texas summers are so hot that in many West Texas reservoirs, more water evaporates than gets used by people. In 2011, more water evaporated out of Lakes Travis and Buchanan in Central Texas than was used by their largest city customer, Austin. So what about storing water underground — in manmade [...]

March 4, 2013

Legislation Would Require Water Well Owners to Report Usage

Juan Rico culls cotton plants growing between rows in an irrigated cotton field July 27, 2011 near Hermleigh, Texas. A new bill would require most farmers to report their water usage to the state.

A Texas lawmaker has introduced a bill that would help the state keep better track of how much water it’s using. State Senator Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, has filed a bill, SB 272, requiring most farmers to report their water usage to the Texas Water Development Board. “It’s important to have an empirical measure of groundwater [...]

February 21, 2013

This Week in Drought: Long Road May Lie Ahead

The latest NOAA forecast predicts the drought will "persist or intensify" in much of the state over the next three months.

While conditions have improved since the inferno that was the summer of 2011, much of Texas remains in serious drought. According the latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map, 88 percent of the state is in some level of drought conditions, with over a quarter of Texas in “extreme” or “exceptional” drought. And the situation isn’t likely [...]

February 14, 2013

Texas Lawmaker Seeks Overhaul of Water Board

The new board would be full time, and would oversee new large-scale investments in water infrastructure.

From the Texas Tribune: In addition to the intensifying discussions of water infrastructure funding at the Capitol, an even more basic conversation is also getting under way: whether to restructure the Texas Water Development Board. The board, created in 1957, is overseen by six part-time board members, who serve on a volunteer basis after being [...]

February 13, 2013

New Bill Aims to Quiet Down Texas’ Water Wars

A young boy pushes his bicycle out of the Rio Grande after taking a swim with his family where New Mexico, Texas and Mexico all touch. Texas' conflicts with its neighbors over water have heated up during dry times.

As Texas begins a third year of drought, its conflicts over water with neighbors continue. One high-profile case against Oklahoma is on its way to the Supreme Court, Texas has filed a lawsuit against New Mexico, and is accusing Mexico of not sharing the water it should as well. Hoping to bring a measure of calm [...]

February 8, 2013

Video: Lawmakers Say Get Ready to Pay More for Water

As Texas legislators continue to grapple with how to identify and fund water project priorities for the state, Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) makes the argument that Texans don’t value water enough. His comments came at StateImpact Texas’ panel: The Texas Water Crisis: Finding and Funding a Solution. As a representative of a district that [...]