BRAZOS BASIN DROUGHT PERSISTS WITH SOME IMPROVEMENT

Rains have eased drought conditions across large swaths of Texas, though some areas continue to see little relief, particularly in the upper Brazos River basin. However, more improvement may be on the way as we go into the typically wettest months of the year.

According to the April 7 U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the upper basin was at some level of drought conditions, and the watersheds surrounding Possum Kingdom and Granbury lakes remained in the two most severe categories: extreme and exceptional drought. At the same time, the lower basin largely was not under drought conditions and the central basin was a transition zone between the two.

As one might expect, the status of reservoirs in these areas reflect the intensity and duration of rains during the winter and early spring, among other factors. As of early April, the conservation pools at lakes Aquilla, Limestone, Somerville and Granger were full. Flood control protocols prompted the Brazos River Authority to make releases from Limestone, as it does not have a flood pool. The other three reservoirs were storing water in their flood pools. Though the BRA system of reservoirs as a whole remained under a Stage 1 drought watch status, none of the reservoirs with water currently stored in the flood pool remained in a drought stage under the BRA’s Drought Contingency Plan.

Contrast this with most of the reservoirs further up the basin. Possum Kingdom was at 65 percent of its storage capacity and Lake Granbury was at 60 percent in late March. Both remained under a Stage 2 drought warning, as were Whitney and Georgetown reservoirs, under the BRA’s Drought Contingency Plan. Lake Proctor was at 28 percent, or at Stage 4, which calls for pro-rata curtailment of water use.

However, the rains have had some effect at lakes Possum Kingdom and Granbury and water levels have improved. As April began, PK was up about 2 feet since late September 2014, the lowest point over the last 365 days. Granbury hit its lowest point of the last year on June 22, 2014, before rising about 7 feet following heavy rains. The water level fell again over hot, dry summer months, but has seen improvement again in 2015, coming up about two feet in the last few weeks.

Though the winter rains were nice, they were not near enough to refill Granbury and PK. True, the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center’s April 4 Drought Severity Index show’s soil moisture being near normal across the Brazos basin, including the area around those two reservoirs. However, that is not the whole picture when it comes to reservoir water levels. Once the soil is saturated additional rains are needed to fill ponds and stock tanks. Then, further rain will be necessary to cause runoff to spill into dry creeks and join the meager flow in larger streams before any real improvement to the water levels would be seen at Granbury and PK.

The areas hardest hit by drought have to recover from rainfall shortages stretching back several years. Some areas must overcome rain deficits of 40 inches or more. Recovery of reservoir levels will take several heavy rain events, far more rain than normal.

All hope is not lost however, as some weather experts are predicting additional improvement this spring for parts of the Brazos basin. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Gulf Coast and western half of the state, including much of the Brazos basin, can expect above-average rainfall through July. The trend continues for the upper basin into August.

Whatever the weather brings us in the days, weeks and months ahead, one thing is certain, making our water supply stretch as far as possible by conservation is vital. There are plenty of things each of us can do. Fixing a leaky faucet or running toilet, picking landscape plants suitable for Texas' sometimes arid conditions and washing only full loads of clothes or dishes are a few easy ideas. Even turning off unneeded lights and appliances around the home can make a difference, since water is a component of electrical power generation.

If you’d like more ideas, please visit the BRA’s conservation page, here. For more information about the drought and its impact on the BRA reservoir system, please click here.