The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality officially approved an emergency drought order Jan. 29 that will potentially prevent southeastern Texas rice farmers from receiving any water in 2013.

TCEQ Executive Director Zak Covar signed the request to withhold water from downstream agricultural interests unless lakes Travis and Buchanan reach a combined storage capacity of 850,000 acre-feet on March 1. The action makes the emergency measure official policy unless the TCEQ board decides to affirm, modify or set aside the order at its Feb. 13 meeting, spokeswoman Andrea Morrow said.

The Lower Colorado River Authority board of directors on Jan. 8 approved the drought recovery measure. The order mostly resembles an emergency plan approved for 2012 that cut off rice farmers from Lower Colorado River water to allow the Highland Lakes to replenish.

But drought conditions have persisted, forcing the LCRA board to reverse a November decision that would have likely allowed limited quantities of water to flow downstream.