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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April 4, 2013

In Texas, Underground Reservoirs Take Hold

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

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

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

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

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 […]

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

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

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 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 […]