{"id":4649,"date":"2012-01-19T09:47:55","date_gmt":"2012-01-19T15:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=4649"},"modified":"2012-01-19T09:59:04","modified_gmt":"2012-01-19T15:59:04","slug":"the-lcras-new-years-resolution-gain-272-billion-pounds-of-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/01\/19\/the-lcras-new-years-resolution-gain-272-billion-pounds-of-water\/","title":{"rendered":"The LCRA’s New Year’s Resolution: Gain 272 Billion Pounds (of Water)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Photo by LCRA<\/p>

The extreme drought has lowered levels in Lake Travis, exposing formations not seen for some time.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Lower Colorado River Authority<\/a>\u00a0(LCRA), the state entity that handles water for Central Texas, has announced their New Year’s resolution for 2012. And instead of losing weight, they want to gain some: A whopping\u00a0272 billion pounds (of water).<\/p>\n

In a news release today, the LCRA says that it’s set a major goal of increasing its water supply by at least 100,000 acre-feet (equal to 32.5 billion gallons), the equivalent of roughly one-eleventh of the water in Lake Travis when it’s full. That’s enough water for some\u00a0400,000 to 500,000 people a year.<\/p>\n

The two lakes that provide much of Central Texas with water, Travis and Buchanan, are currently at a combined 37 percent of their full capacity in the midst of a record single-year drought<\/a>. The LCRA says that inflows into the lakes are at “historic lows” while water demand is at an all-time high<\/a>. (Only half a percent of Texas is currently drought-free<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

So where will this new water come from, you ask?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo by LCRA<\/p>

LCRA General Manager Becky Motal<\/p><\/div>\n

The LCRA is counting on “rain runoff and other river flows that currently flow into the Gulf of Mexico.” The agency’s General Manager Becky\u00a0Motal<\/a> says in the release that the LCRA “could capture a small portion of these flows and store them for later use, while still keeping water in the river for the environmental health of the Colorado River and the bay and estuary system that depends on freshwater inflows from the river.”<\/p>\n

In a phone call with StateImpact Texas, LCRA spokesperson Clara Tuma pointed out that no sites have been chosen for the water collection but that “a goal has been set\u00a0\u2013 how to get there is what we’re figuring out.” The LCRA says that the area where the water would be collected is below the Highland lakes in the lower Colorado River basin. Essentially, when it rains, the LCRA wants to grab as much of that water as they can.<\/p>\n

Related<\/h4>
Posts<\/h5>