A new map from the Texas Tribune shows water levels in lakes and reservoirs across the state.
A new interactive map from our friends at the Texas Tribune allows you to see up-to-date levels for major lakes and reservoirs in the state. The map was created by the Tribune’s environmental reporter Kate Galbraith and data reporter Ryan Murphy.
Although overall drought conditions have improved in much of the state, our water storage hasn’t fully recovered. As you can see from the Tribune’s map, many lakes and reservoirs in the western parts of the state are still no more than a quarter full. On the eastern half of Texas, however, nearly all of the lakes and reservoirs are between 75 and 100 percent full. You can see the map in full at the Texas Tribune.
In the latest drought monitor released today, over 17 percent of the state is completely drought-free. But much of the western part of the state is still in the worst stages of drought, as is clear in the map to the right.Ā These new maps put in stark relief the difference between the two halves of the state in their recovery from the drought.
Just how much damage has the drought done to Texas? For the first time, you can see an interactive map and severalĀ visualizationsĀ that show just how severe the drought has been our new interactive web app,Ā āDried Out: Confronting the Texas Drought.āĀ
Trip Doggett is the President of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas
Power moves Texas, but does the state have enough juice to make it through another blistering summer? Trip Doggett, President and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of TexasĀ (ERCOT), discusses new power generation, conservation, alternative energy, weather and oversight at a Texas Senate hearing today.
Check out our Storify feed, featuring reporting by StateImpact Texas and tweets from Kate Galbraith and others at the hearing, after jump: Continue Reading →
In a January announcement, the LCRA said that they wanted to add 100,000 acre-feet of water. (An acre-foot is the amount of water it takes to cover an acre of land with water a foot deep, about 326,000 gallons of water.) One of the ideas to accomplish that goal was to build “off-channel” reservoirs downstream of the Highland Lakes, essentially side buckets that capture extra water downstream and store it for agricultural use.
This week the LCRA announced a pilot project to see how viable the bucket idea is. Continue Reading →
Americans will likely take their views on energy issues to the voting booth this November, according to a new national poll by The University of Texas at Austin. The survey found that 65 percent of respondents considered energy to be an important presidential issue.
Courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin Energy Poll, March 12
The results suggest that overall, consumers favor policies that would increase domestic energy production.Ā Fifty percent of respondents said they would likely vote for a presidential candidate who approved construction of theĀ Keystone XL Pipeline, andĀ 46 percent said that they would support a candidate willing to expand offshore oil drilling along the Gulf Coast. But only twenty percent of participants said that they would likely vote for aĀ presidential candidateĀ who supported eliminating theĀ Environmental Protection AgencyĀ (EPA). Continue Reading →
Volunteers count mussels in Lake Arrowhead State Park in North Texas
You may have had mussels steamed in a bit of white wine and butter. But they most likely weren’t mussels from rivers or creeks in Texas.
“Their favorite food is bacteria. They are filter-feeders, the vacuum cleaners of the river systems,” said Marsha May, a biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“They’re taking in all kinds of things that can be found in streams and rivers. And so they could be toxic,” cautioned May.
Not exactly appetizing. And maybe worse is what it says about the state of those Texas waterways.
“(Mussels) are an organism we consider a biological indicator of the health of the system,” said May.”Once the mussels start going, other organisms are going to follow.”
Is it that time of year again already? Everybody's talking about pain at the pump.
Thereās been lots of finger pointing over gasoline prices going up over the past few months. Some attribute the price jump to international instability, others say oil speculators are gaming the system. Republican presidential hopefuls, not surprisingly, are blaming the President.
But have we seen this before?
Today,Ā an article in the Washington Post cites an emerging trend: each year when spring rolls around, the price at the pump escalates. The Post cites a couple of reasons: Continue Reading →
Damaged beach front homes are seen on Galveston Island after the passing of Hurricane Ike September 13, 2008 in Galveston, Texas.
A recent ruling by the Texas Supreme Court wasn’t very well-received by the General Land Office (GLO).Ā In a 5ā3 opinion, the Court ruled that the GLO couldn’t force a beachfront homeowner, Carol Severance, to move her house after a Hurricane eroded the public beach in front of it. After the hurricane, that beach was gone, and was now essentially under her house.
āIt seems that the Open Beaches Act ā at least for Galvestonās West End ā is dead, thanks to the Supreme Court,ā Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said after the ruling was announced. āThis is truly a sad day.ā
But a new response from the legal team behind the landowner begs to differ. The lead attorney for the defendant, David Breemer, said in a recent statement thatĀ “the decision does notĀ ‘kill’Ā the Open Beaches Act; it enforces it. What it kills is a rolling easement theory that cannot be found anywhere in that law,Ā a theory made up by state officials to avoid complying with provisions of the Act that say easements go to the vegetation line only when proven to exist by public use.”
Anybody who lived in Texas last summer will tell you it was hot. Really, really hot.
It was the hottest summer on record statewide. Numerous cities, including Austin, Houston, and Dallas saw their heat records shattered by the high temperatures. Austin, for example, experienced 90 days of heat 100 degrees or over, including 27 days straight of triple digits heat from mid July to August.
It was hot.
So it might come as a relief to Texans that this summer will very likely not be as hot as last. In fact, John Nielson-Gammon, the State Climatologist, says it’s basically a sure thing.
“The rain weāve had is a good start,ā Nielson-Gammon, told StateImpact Texas this week. āIt means it wonāt be as hot this summer no matter what else happens.ā
Our new interactive webpage on the drought has resulted in quite a few comments from readers with their own stories and thoughts about the Texas drought. Here’s a roundup of some of those responses:
What’s Being Done to Plan for a Drier Future?
Many readers were concerned about planning for future droughts like the one that began in 2010.
Commenter Theodore Roberts says what planning is being done doesn’t factor in a changing climate:
“Interesting that the 5 solutions listed ignore entirely the root cause of this crisis. Where is the plan to reduce carbon emissions, consume less petroleum and electricity, and the face the simple reality that temperatures are going rise and rise over the coming decades? Global warming is a reality and no amount of wishful thinking or anti-science hysteria will make a difference.”
A man herds cattle at the West Auction in the winter of 2012.
What happens in a country that runs out of farmers? The question may not be as crazy as it sounds.
During the last agricultural census the number of farmers aged 65 or over grew by 22 percent. Itās the fastest growing group of farm operators in the country. Continue Reading →
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In the latest drought monitor released today, over 17 percent of the state is completely drought-free. But much of the western part of the state is still in the worst stages of drought, as is clear in the map to the right.Ā These new maps put in stark relief the difference between the two halves of the state in their recovery from the drought.
