Lower Colorado River Authority: Drought Update

LCRA asks state for drought relief measures

LCRA has submitted two applications to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) seeking permission to significantly cut back or cut off water to farmers next year if the severe drought continues and to take other drought relief measures.

LCRA’s Board of Directors decided to take the action at its Sept. 21 meeting in response to the extreme drought and its impact on lakes Travis and Buchanan, the region’s water supply reservoirs. You can read more about the Board’s decision here.

With its applications, LCRA has asked the TCEQ for permission to deviate from its state-approved Water Management Plan to:

1. Cut off Highland Lakes water to farmers in the Gulf Coast and Lakeside irrigation divisions if the lakes contain less than 850,000 acre-feet of water on March 1, 2012 (water supplied to the Garwood and Lakeside divisions is governed by contract terms); or
2. Allow no more than 125,000 acre-feet of Highland Lakes water to be pumped from the Colorado River to the four irrigation operations served by LCRA if the lakes contain between 850,000 acre-feet and 920,000 acre-feet of water on March 1, 2012.  To supply this water, more than 125,000 acre-feet would need to be from the Highland Lakes because of losses from evaporation and seepage as it flows downstream to the farming areas of Wharton, Colorado and Matagorda counties.

As of Oct. 4, the combined storage of lakes Travis and Buchanan was 755,000 acre-feet.

LCRA has also asked TCEQ to temporarily amend LCRA's downstream water rights to allow LCRA’s existing municipal and industrial customers to use water from the river when it is not being used by agriculture. This could reduce the amount of water downstream customers need from the Highland Lakes.

The requests, which were agreed on by a cross section of LCRA customers, many of whom served on the recent Water Management Plan Advisory Committee, are being made to protect LCRA’s municipal and industrial customers and prevent water from being released for a crop next year only to have it cut off mid-crop. This would cause the crop to wither in the field and waste the water. You can read an editorial about the drought relief measures from LCRA General Manger Becky Motal here.

LCRA is making the requests under the emergency provisions of the Texas Water Code and under the Governor’s Emergency Declaration. The applications are being made now to allow time for TCEQ to process the applications before irrigation season begins in 2012.