LCRA urges Central Texans to use water wisely due to continuing drought

LCRA urges Central Texans to use water wisely

LCRA is encouraging smart water management practices as drought continues across much of Central Texas.

AUSTIN, Texas - Despite recent rains, drought continues across much of Central Texas, so LCRA is urging everyone to be mindful of their water use.

As of June 29, the Lower River Colorado Authority is reporting combined storage is at 52% capacity at Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis. As we continue to experience a dry season, officials are asking cities that get their water supply from LCRA, to conserve water usage by 5 percent.

"Most of them will look at reducing the number of days that are available for people to be able to water their yards, the hours that they can water their yards," said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of water.

Water use, along with evaporation, goes up significantly during hotter weather, with the EPA estimating that up to 70 percent of water used at homes in the summer goes to landscaping.

Austin, Cedar Park, Leander and Pflugerville residents are allowed to water their yards once a week before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m.

"Using landscaping of plants that are more accustomed to Texas heat and Texas drought conditions will allow your yard to look better longer," said Hofmann.

LCRA is encouraging smart water management practices such as:

Watering yards only before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. and following local watering restrictions
Using water-efficient landscaping and drought-tolerate plants
Covering swimming pools to reduce evaporation
Adding mulch to landscape beds and compost to turf to help prevent water loss
Washing full loads of laundry or adjusting the water level when washing smaller loads

Click here for more water-saving tips, tools and resources.

Drought Contingency Plan Stage 1

LCRA entered Stage 1 of its drought contingency plan in July 2022.

Under Stage 1, LCRA is requesting its firm water customers reduce water use by 5%, but each customer decides how to implement drought response measures.

Firm water customers are primarily municipalities, water districts and industries that purchase available water. Other customers purchase "interruptible" water that is curtailed or cut off during drought.

LCRA has taken action under its Water Management Plan to curtail water to interruptible customers in the lower basin. In July 2022, LCRA determined that because of the duration and intensity of the drought, no Highland Lakes water would be available to agricultural operations in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties for the second growing season in 2022.

In March, LCRA determined that no Highland Lakes water would be available to those operations through 2023. Under the WMP, LCRA will conduct another water supply evaluation on July 1. LCRA will supply a limited amount of interruptible stored water from the Highland Lakes to the Garwood Agricultural Division consistent with prior agreements.

The next time Highland Lakes water could be available to customers in the Gulf Coast, Lakeside and Pierce Ranch operations will be after the March 1, 2024, evaluation date.

Drought Contingency Plan Stage 2

If Highland Lake levels dip below 45% capacity, LCRA will have to move to stage 2 of their contingency plans.

"Which, based off of what we're seeing right now, could happen sometime in late July or August," said Hofmann.

The city of San Marcos has been in stage 2 of drought contingency plans since last summer.

The city gets its water supply from Canyon Lake and Edwards Aquifer.

After seeing the lower lake levels, conservation coordinator Jan de la Cruz says the city made the decision to move to stage 3.

"But it has started to drop pretty rapidly, and it's at about 75% capacity. So, it's definitely getting down there and falling steadily as well," said San Marcos conservation coordinator Jan de la Cruz.

Meaning the city of San Marcos had to enact tougher water restrictions.

"The main difference there is the use of sprinklers. In stage two, our residents can use sprinklers one day a week on designated days and times in stage three. That's going to be only one day every other week," said de la Cruz.

The city of San Marcos is asking residents to do their part to conserve water this summer - as lake levels continue to drop.

"It's falling about a foot a day. It's going pretty fast. So based on that alone, we could be in stage four restrictions, you know, in the next few weeks," said de la Cruz.

LCRA customers rely on water from lakes Buchanan and Travis, which supply water for more than 1.4 million people, industries and businesses, agriculture, and the environment.

Lakes Buchanan and Travis are designed to fluctuate, going up during rainy times and holding that water for later use, says LCRA.

If the combined storage falls below 900,000 acre-feet, or about 45% of capacity, LCRA will move to Stage 2 and will ask firm customers to reduce water use by 10 to 20%.

As of June 29, combined storage stands at 52%, or about 1.013 million acre-feet. LCRA projections show that without additional inflows, combined storage could reach 900,000 acre-feet in the next few months.