Residents want LCRA water to stay local

Ron Weindorf lives with his wife Joan on the northern shores of Lake Travis.

 

"As you can see around, on the side of the roads, everywhere - the animals are really struggling for water and for grass to eat," Weindorf said. "I take the time to buy some birdseed and get some old bread and put it out for them so that they get a little snack everyday."

 

Extremely dry conditions have driven wildlife into their neighborhood in search of food.

 

 

"When the lake is full and doing well," Weindorf said, "the water is up to these trees right here," pointing to trees at least thirty feet above the current water level.

 

With Lake Travis currently 38 feet below average , and 50 feet short of being full, the Point Venture and Lakeway marinas have been forced to relocate to deeper water as inlets and coves dry up.

 

Some say that low lake levels caused by the drought have been made worse by controversial water releases for rice farmers .

 

Pat Mulligan lives in the Spicewood community, and serves on the Central Texas Water Coalition . The CTWC is a group advocating for the conservation of the water in the Highland lakes.

 

"When it was all set up, it was a whole different community 30 years ago. Now, there are millions of people living around here drinking that water," Mulligan said.

 

The LCRA sells water to two categories of consumer:

During 2011, a severe drought year in Texas, agricultural customers used more than twice as much water from the Highland lakes as cities used.

 

"We're doing our part. We're saving water here," Mulligan said. "That's what those guys need to do downstream."

 

As of the latest LCRA ruling, there is currently enough water in the Highland lakes to prompt releases this spring for rice farmers.

 

Many are not happy about that possibility.

 

Senators Kirk Watson and Troy Fraser recently sent a strongly-worded letter to the LCRA , asking the Board to "rescind its imprudent decision" to send water downstream, and stating that the LCRA 's duty to firm customers such as the City of Austin is "unmistakably clear and yet inexplicably ignored."

 

"It's about living, it's not about finances anymore," Mulligan said. "It's about survival and drinking water for families and the community."

 

As announced in December, the LCRA Board is calling an emergency drought meeting next Tuesday, when the Board could change their ruling for water releases in 2013. One of the proposals to be voted on includes not sending any water to most downstream farmers for a second year in a row.

At the time the Board adopted an emergency drought relief plan in November 2012, Chair Tim Timmerman said the Board would keep a close eye on combined storage and the weather, and would considering revising LCRA's request to TCEQ if conditions warranted. After an extremely dry November and December, Board members will revisit the issue to determine if they should modify their earlier request.

“As this historic drought continues, it becomes more and more apparent that we must do whatever it takes to protect the firm water supplies for the City of Austin and other municipalities,” Board Chair Tim Timmerman said.

KXAN will have the latest on the results of next week's meeting as soon as the LCRA reaches a decision.

 

The Lower Colorado Regional Water Planning Group is offering an information session for anyone interested in learning more about what goes into distributing central Texas' water.

 

The ' Regional Water Planning 101 ' session is free, and will take place on Wednesday, January 9th at 10 A.M. in the LCRA facility located at 3505 Montopolis Drive in Austin.