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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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 [...]

January 31, 2013

Lawmakers Discuss How to Prioritize Water Plan

The Texas Water Plan is a road map for the state to meet its current and future water needs over the next fifty years. It’s known in part for having a high price tag ($53 billion, with about half of that coming from state funds). It’s also known for being un-prioritized. It’s a wishlist of [...]

January 29, 2013

Governor Joins Chorus Calling for Water Funding

The Texas Governor said "none of us can deny the need" for improved water supplies and roads.

In his biennial ‘State of the State‘ speech today, Texas Governor Rick Perry called for spending billions to fund water projects and build and repair roads, advocating for taking $3.7 billion from the Rainy Day Fund “for a one-time investment in infrastructure programs.” Current proposals in the Texas House and Senate that appear to have growing support call [...]

Water For Texas: Lawmakers Say State Needs More Than Money

State Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio) says drought restriction enforcement should be uniform throughout the state.

Two billion dollars is a lot of money. It’s also how much some state lawmakers want to spend to protect Texas from future water shortages. A lot has been made of that price tag. But when three state lawmakers sat down with StateImpact Texas at a forum in Austin last night, they also talked rulemaking. [...]

January 17, 2013

This Week in Drought: Slight Improvement, But a Worrying Forecast

The latest federal drought forecast doesn't provide much hope for Texas.

The rains that made their way across much of Texas last week were a welcome sight for the state, currently in its third year of drought. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map shows that drought levels decreased for the first time since October 2012. But they didn’t fall much. About seven percent of the state [...]

January 10, 2013

Lawmaker Moves Forward to Start Funding Water Plan

State Rep. Allan Ritter has introduced two new bills that would take cash from the Rainy Day Fund to capitalize the State Water Plan.

A state representative filed legislation today to start funding new water projects in Texas, as the state continues to struggle with water supplies and drought. In two House Bills, State Rep. Allan Ritter (R-Nederland), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, advocates taking $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund to start “a new, dedicated [...]

January 4, 2013

Latest Drought Outlook: Dry Spell Could Continue in Texas

Map by NOAA As the 83rd Texas Legislature convenes next week, there’s considerable pressure on lawmakers to do something about the state’s water woes, whether it be funding water infrastructure, increased conservation or even desalination. The state’s population is booming, with over 100,000 people moving to Texas in 2011 alone. And as new forecasts out [...]

November 16, 2012

What the Dust Bowl Can Teach Us About Climate Change

If you were making your way across parts of Texas last year, you would be forgiven for wondering if it all wouldn’t simply burn up and turn to dust. A new documentary shows how that literally happened to a wide swath of the country during the thirties because of human actions. “The dust bowl was [...]

November 12, 2012

Water and the Land: Where Texas Ag Goes From Here

We recently sat down with a panel of land experts at the Texas Tribune‘s Oct. 29 summit on water to discuss agriculture and state water management. The panel featured Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, David Langford of the Texas Wildlife Association and Laura Huffman of The Nature Conservancy of Texas. You can watch it in full [...]

November 8, 2012

By the Numbers: Texas’ Long Heat Wave

In Austin, a work of guerrilla art predicted the gradual desertification of Texas at the height of the 2011 drought.

People are starting to think of hotter-than-average weather as the new normal here in Texas.