Summertime blues: Drought may force Waco water restrictions -- but where are they going to get cooling water for the new Global Warming Coal Power PLants?
OILY Political Corruption
Summertime blues: Drought may force Waco water restrictions
Even though the Brazos River continues to flow through Waco and
boaters can be seen on the lake, don't be fooled - we may be facing
water rationing come summer.
"It's grim," Waco Water Department spokeswoman Dori Helm said. "It's
statewide, too. When (Lake Waco's water level is) down 3 or 4 feet,
people don't think we're down all that much, but it really is. Unless
we get a ton - a ton - of rain, we're going to be in trouble, it looks
like."
On Tuesday, the city council amended Waco's drought-management plan,
setting benchmarks for water rationing based on the lake level. The
council adopted three stages, with increasingly stringent water
restrictions.
Stage one of the amended plan is triggered when Lake Waco's water
level drops to 448 feet, or half of its capacity, according to water
department records. At that point, landscape and other outdoor water
usage would be limited to two days a week.
Stage two - a severe water shortage - begins if the level falls to 445
feet, or 40 percent of the lake's capacity. Outdoor water use would be
restricted to one day per week and a moratorium would be placed on
constructing or installing new swimming pools, Jacuzzis, spas,
ornamental ponds or fountains.
If the lake drops to 440 feet, 30 percent of its capacity, stage three
would come into effect and the city would be in a water crisis, or
"catastrophic water shortage," according to the city document. At that
point, outdoor water use would be prohibited, and municipal use would
be limited to activities "necessary to maintain the public health,
safety and welfare, as determined by the city," the document says.
In 2003, the lake's water level was raised to 462 feet, a level deemed
"normal" by the city.
As of Tuesday, Lake Waco's water level was at 453.51 feet. Although 5
feet makes for a lot of Lake Waco water, Helm said dropping that much
to hit the first water-restriction benchmark is not out of the
question, given weather forecasts for the spring and summer.
"We're really nervous about it," Helm said. "If we don't get the
spring rains, like they're saying we're not going to get, what happens
when we get to the hot summer?"
National Weather Service meteorologist Daniel Huckaby, dubbed the NWS'
"drought guru" by one co-worker, said even the more than 3 inches of
rain that have fallen in McLennan County in March haven't freed the
area from the drought's grip.
Huckaby said the spring months could see below-average precipitation,
though he added the drought tag possibly still could be lifted by
year's end.
But right now, the long-term forecast calls for a drier-than- normal
spring, he said.
"If we're near or below normal, then we're likely to have issues come
summertime," he said. "If we start off the summer behind (in
rainfall), it's going to be a long summer."
Huckaby also warned that even with continuing spring rains like Waco
has seen this month, lake levels would be low.
"We're going to have to get a lot of rain this spring to make a dent
in that," he said.
If Waco is forced to restrict water use, the city will not be alone in
the state. Currently, 164 public water systems have mandatory water
use restrictions, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality. An additional 100 public water systems are under voluntary
restrictions.
Charles Ferguson, hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1962 as
construction inspector for the Lake Waco dam and currently an
operations manager for the city of Waco, said he is not aware of any
restrictions on water use since the dam was completed in 1964.
"But I also don't recall the (water level) being down to this point
since that time," he said.
Ferguson said there is no magic potion to cure what ails Waco and much
of Central Texas.
"A good rain is what it's going to take, and a lot of it," Ferguson
said. "That and, of course, the conservation to reduce consumption."
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