LCRA announces water restrictions, no downstream releases
The Lower Colorado River Authority on Monday, March, 3, announced it will raise its drought response from Stage 1 to Stage 2, requiring all firm water customers—including cities, industries, and retail water suppliers—to increase water-saving measures and limit outdoor watering to no more than once a week.
The authority also announced that no water from the Highland Lakes will be available to most interruptible agricultural customers in Colorado, Wharton, and Matagorda counties in 2025.
“These actions are needed to help preserve and extend our water supplies in the face of a drought that shows little signs of easing over spring and summer,” said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of Water, in a media release. “Our water supply reservoirs—lakes Buchanan and Travis—remain stressed and are now sitting at about 51 percent of capacity.”
NEW OUTDOOR WATERING RESTRICTIONS
LCRA moved to Stage 2 of its Drought Contingency Plan for firm water customers because, on March 1, the amount of water in lakes Buchanan and Travis was below 1.1 million acre-feet, and the prior three months of inflows were less than the 25th percentile of historic inflows for that three-month period.
During Stage 2, firm water customers must implement additional water-saving measures, including an outdoor watering schedule of no more than once a week, with a goal of reducing demands by 20 percent. Each firm water customer will decide what additional conservation measures to enact and how to enforce them.
The once-per-week watering restriction also applies to lakeside property owners who draw water directly from the Highland Lakes under a domestic use contract with LCRA.
“We can’t control the weather, evaporation, or when it rains,” Hofmann said. “What we can control is our discretionary water use, such as the amount of water we put on our yards and landscapes. In terms of really having an impact on things, reducing the amount of outdoor watering is the most meaningful action people in Central Texas can do to help extend our water supplies.”
Hofmann encouraged people to use drought-tolerant plants and landscaping that can thrive on no more than once-a-week watering.
“Drought tolerant is really the name of the game here,” he said. “Drought-tolerant plants can survive on little water during our hot Texas summers, saving water and money. It’s a win-win.”
Firm water customers in the Highland Lakes include the cities of Burnet, Cottonwood Shores, Granite Shoals, Horseshoe Bay, and Marble Falls.
LCRA was last in Stage 2 of its drought response from August 2023 through June 2024. Stage 2 will remain in effect until the combined storage of lakes Buchanan and Travis increases to at least 1.1 million acre-feet, or about 55 percent of capacity.
NO WATER DOWNSTREAM
LCRA has determined that, because of the drought, no water from the Highland Lakes will be available to most agricultural customers in Colorado, Wharton, and Matagorda counties in 2025. Water from the lakes has not been available to these customers since the first growing season in 2022.
The river authority made the determination based on provisions in its Water Management Plan, which required the cutoff because of the intensity and duration of the drought and the amount of water in lakes Buchanan and Travis on March 1.
The determination affects customers in the Gulf Coast, Lakeside, and Pierce Ranch agricultural operations. These customers contract for “interruptible water,” which is curtailed or cut back during droughts. The next time water from lakes Buchanan and Travis could be available to these customers is after March 1, 2026.
This year, customers in the Garwood Agricultural Division will be entitled to a limited amount of water, including a maximum of 18,100 acre-feet from the Highland Lakes, under terms of the purchase agreement of the Garwood water rights.
Visit www.lcra.org/drought for more information on LCRA’s drought response.