http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2014-04-17/48-texas-cities-face-water-shortages?utm_source=Morris%20Digital%20Works&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DaliyHeadlines

About 25 percent of the 4,600 public water systems in Texas have implemented some form of restrictions to curb use and conserve water. And yet, there are more than 30 water systems across the state in danger of running out of water within 90 days.

One in four of those are within 75 miles of Lubbock.

http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-11-05/we-have-get-serious

There are three dams in NM upstream on the Canadian from Meredith... I was unaware there were that many. Good article.

Just goes to show the cyclical weather patterns and changing drought conditions occur over both short and long stretches of time.

I heard a presentation recently from the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority that oversees (I guess that should read oversaw) the pumping of water out of Meredith.

It was interesting to me that Ute Lake (I believe that is the closest dam upstream) has never released water down the Canadian in a significant enough amount to fill up Meredith. When the dam at lake Meredith was built they thought it would take 25-30 years to fill and it happened in a mere few years. I may be slightly off on the numbers as I am going off of memory. The point was they built it at exactly the right time and there was so much rain over those few years it was an overnight success. Ute Lake was already in existence I think and dammed upstream.

There is an agreement in place that once Ute Lake reaches a certain level they are legally required to release the water, but conveniently someone from the Canadian Municipal Water Authority has to be the one to monitor and tell them when to release. I believe this rarely gets done. But even so they do not think it would have a significant impact on the water level at Meredith.

One of their biggest problems besides the drought right now is salt cedars along the Canadian river. These are not native to the panhandle and were planted to guess what? Improve the stability of the banks of the river to get more water to Meredith. This has back fired and now they soak up so much water per acre that they are contributing heavily to the low levels of Meredith. Well that and we don't ever get rain anymore....

Really interesting actually. Also this presentation was from the water authority so I can't speak to the truth or accuracy.

http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2014-04-26/there-light-end-tunnel-parched-panhandle-probably-not-any-time-soon

quote:

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Is there light at the end of the tunnel for parched Panhandle? Probably not any time soon, experts say. “The past three and a half years has been the driest period on record for the Texas High Plains,” The NWS reports Amarillo had about 35 inches of rain over three years, 2011 to 2013. Normal rainfall is 20 inches per year. . Some Amarillo officials will say they estimate the city has 200 years of water. “We have water rights, but we don’t have the infrastructure, A Texas Water Development Board publication shows residents used an average of 42 percent of the city water supply outdoors annually through the years 2004 to 2011, taking into account the slower water use in winter. That compares to a state average of 31 percent, and left Amarillo second only to Tyler in outdoor water use. Daily water use has exceeded the city’s goal of about 44 million gallons a day every day but three in April, reaching more than 60 million gallons some days.

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Saw this the other day on twitter:

YTD 2014: Death Valley CA .38" precipitation; Dalhart TX .33" and Dumas TX .27".

quote:

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture this past week declared 95 percent of Texas counties a natural disaster area in the wake of the drought that has gripped the state since 2011.

Of the state’s 252 counties, 240 received the designation, which means producers are eligible for low-interest loans.

Texas farmers said they doubted many would take advantage of the program.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time it doesn't help our producers,” said Curtis Preston, a Texas A&M ag extension agent in Bailey County. “They already have loans.”

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http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2014-04-27/most-counties-reach-disaster-status?utm_source=Morris%20Digital%20Works&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DaliyHeadlines

We don't need loans , we need rains.
It's the worse its ever been

It doesn't look good ... again

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?TX