Storms failed to significantly replenish water supply

"THIRST," a temporary art installation intended to raise awareness about the drought, debuted Sept. 29 shortly before two separate floods wreaked havoc on Central Austin. The significant rainfall nevertheless failed to replenish the city's reservoirs or drastically improve already dire environmental conditions.

On the other hand, the artistic display overlapped a successful campaign to allocate $2 billion in loan money toward statewide water infrastructure projects. Texas voters overwhelmingly approved the initiative Nov. 5 by a nearly 3-1 margin. In addition, the Lower Colorado River Authority board took the historic step Nov. 19 of cutting off downstream rice farmers from Highland Lakes water for the third consecutive year in an effort to maintain storage levels in local water reservoirs.

The drought is no longer a topic Austinites can ignore, said Chris Cowden, executive director of Women and Their Work, the nonprofit art organization that collaborated on "THIRST." She credits the art project for helping to increase concern about drought conditions.

"It came together in that it was a really strong art project, but it had a really strong message and it just happened to be at maybe the most significant time Austin has ever had," Cowden said. "The stars aligned, and it was meant to be."

Narrow miss

Before "THIRST" debuted, lakes Travis and Buchanan were on pace by the end of November to hit a drought worse than the drought of record—when the lakes' combined storage drops below 600,000 acre-feet to automatically trigger severe, mandatory watering restrictions. Lake storage has since increased approximately 90,000 acre-feet since Sept. 20, delaying the drought of record until at least April or May, according to LCRA staff projections.

However, the increase in lake levels could have been far more significant had the two severe storms Oct. 12 and 31 dropped more rain within the Highland Lakes' watershed. LCRA staff estimated during a Nov. 19 board meeting that the lakes' storage levels could have increased an extra 200,000 acre-feet if the Oct. 31 storm had hit 15 miles northwest. The rainfall instead overwhelmed Lady Bird Lake and the rest of the Colorado River lower basin, creating flood conditions that proved detrimental for dozens of downstream property owners.

The narrow miss forced the LCRA to deny downstream rice farmers Highland Lakes water for a historic third year in a row. On

Nov. 19, LCRA board members voted 8-7 to ask the state for emergency relief from providing agricultural irrigation water unless lake levels reach 1.1 million acre-feet by March 1, considerably more than the approximately 737,000 acre-feet of combined storage as of Nov. 22.

Even though the LCRA has dodged the drought of record so far, a plan needs to be in place to determine when LCRA can declare the drought of record is over, said state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin.

"In other words, when do you go back to a normal, if you will, management and start having releases go downstream?" Watson said. "What does that declaration look like? How full do those lakes need to be now that we've had some experience with the drought and the releases? Where does that take us?"

Staggering impacts

Watson was part of a bipartisan effort during the summer's 83rd Legislative Session to dedicate $2 billion from the state's Rainy Day Fund toward water infrastructure projects. The initiative passed the Legislature and eventually gained voter approval Nov. 5.

The money could help fund approximately

$27 billion in water projects the next 50 years, with approximately 20 percent of that money going toward conservation and reuse projects—nothing new for Austin, the former mayor said.

"When I was mayor, we secured Austin's water future with conservation projects for the next 50 years," Watson said. "I could see where conservation projects might be another part of what we want to see come out of this."

Sixteen regional water groups will determine what projects should benefit from the $2 billion, and the newly restructured Texas Water Development Board will make a final project wish list.

The money will need to be spread throughout the state because of a projected 8.3 million acre-feet water shortage during the next 50 years unless more water capacity is created, TWDB Chairman Carlos Rubinstein said.

"There's no question [that] to be able to maintain our sustainability and growth and economic vitality, water is absolutely key," Rubinstein said.

He would not speculate on what projects might be the first to gain board consideration until the regional boards first rank their priority projects. The need in Central Texas—known by the TWDB as Region K—is significant. TWDB projects a 367,671 acre-feet shortfall for the region in the next 50 years, while Travis County alone needs an additional 92,000 acre-feet of extra water supply to accommodate its future needs, Rubinstein said.

While those numbers are staggering, he said there are more severe shortages anticipated in the Dallas, Houston and Rio Grande Valley areas unless more water capacity is created.

"If we fail to address our needs and fail to come up with ways to make up that 8.3 million acre-feet shortage by 2060, we estimate the impact to Texas will be about $115 billion—1.1 million Texans will lose their jobs, and 1.4 million would leave Texas altogether," Rubinstein said. "Those are staggering impacts."

Minimal benefits

The drought has already taken a toll on the environment, including more than 300 million dead Texas trees since 2011. That figure inspired the symbolic dead tree in the middle of Lady Bird Lake, as such dry weather can be devastating to a tree's health.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released data Nov. 14 suggesting Travis County is in what the agency considers the "abnormally dry" drought stage—the least severe of five possible stages. In other cases, sections of Austin have had their drought designation lifted entirely. The Highland Lakes, on the other hand, remain under severe and moderate drought status.

Despite the improved drought outlook, trees can take up to seven years to recover from such perpetually dry conditions, said Angela Hanson, city of Austin urban forester. Trees can also suffer from disease and sometimes irreversible structural damage.

"That project [THIRST] is brilliant because at the end of the day, that's my job, too—to communicate to citizens just what the impact of drought is and how it affects trees," Hanson said. "They were able to do that brilliantly and in a way that's very difficult to ignore."

The health of Austin's trees is vital, she said, because of the much-needed cooling effect they provide.

"Trees as a whole in this city provide a buffer to help moderate water loss," she said. "In the long term, it's really important we at least maintain our canopy cover."

Despite missing the Highland Lakes, the recent rain did significantly improve the health of the Colorado River starting from Lady Bird Lake down to Matagorda Bay.

The previously stagnant water was depriving the aquatic ecosystem of oxygen, said Sarah Richards, Colorado River Alliance executive director. Although helpful, the rainfall was still not enough to ensure the river's long-term vitality, she said.

"Thousands are moving to the city on a weekly basis, and it's this river that gives Austin a soul," Richards said. "I think we're proud of our river, and we should be proud of it—and now we need to protect it and use water wisely."

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'THIRST' project stands out

"THIRST," a white-painted, dead tree positioned upright in Lady Bird Lake and accompanied by more than 14,000 nearby prayer flags, debuted Sept. 29 to bring more awareness to the ongoing drought's environmental impact. The project will remain in place until Dec. 16 despite twice being damaged during two rain storms.

The project was created by nonprofit art organization Women and Their Work, visual artist Beili Liu, landscape designer Cassie Bergstrom and architects Emily Little and Norma Yancey. Women and Their Work Executive Director Chris Cowden said she is often asked: Why Lady Bird Lake?

"We felt like it needed to be on Lady Bird Lake for some very specific reasons—one, it is the emotional and physical heart of Austin, and, two, it's a constant-level lake," Cowden said. "People visiting the lake would think there's no problem, and very few people get to see Lake Travis. If they saw that, it would take their breath away."

Lake Travis is only at one-third of its capacity, and combined with Lake Buchanan, the reservoirs have approximately 737,000 acre-feet of water as of Nov. 22, well below the 2.01 million acre-feet maximum combined storage level.

The result of the water proposition passing

Nearly three-quarters of Texans who voted Nov. 5 approved Proposition 6, an initiative intended to loan $2 billion for water infrastructure projects.

The upfront money could help fund more than $25 billion in water projects during the next 50 years, according to state estimates. Now that the initiative has been passed, the process is underway to determine what projects will first benefit from the new money supply.

Carlos Rubinstein, Texas Water Development Board chairman, is one of three board members that will have final say on proposed projects. Before his board makes any decision, however, Rubinstein said a new state law requires several steps:

May 28: Gov. Rick Perry signs comprehensive water bill into law

Sept. 1: Terms begin for three appointees on restructured Texas Water Development Board

Nov. 5: Proposition 6 approved by 73.37 percent of voters

Dec. 1: Sixteen regional water groups must create uniform criteria for ranking water infrastructure projects

Sept. 1, 2014: Water groups must prioritize projects based on approved criteria

March 2015: TWDB must create its own uniform criteria for ranking water infrastructure projects proposed by regional water groups; money is available for disbursement after this time

How to help

1) Decrease water use. Less water used by individuals means more water remains in the environment.

2) Get informed. There are many competing needs for Texas water—understand them all.

3) Use less potable water to irrigate landscaping. Instead, use reclaimed water.

4) Plant certain plants and trees that are more drought-tolerant. Anticipate future conditions and take into account Texas' changing climate patterns when landscaping.

Sources: Sarah Richards, Colorado River Alliance executive director; Angela Hanson, city of Austin urban forester