Central Texas drought worst in country

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Drought conditions in the Austin area are getting worse by the day, and new data out Thursday night shows the drought in Central Texas is the worst in the country. It is damaging livestock, crops and lake recreation.

Lake Travis is 27 feet below capacity, and as we continue in the midst of a category-4 drought, which is the worst level there is, the lake could drop another 25 feet by the end of the summer. These are dicey days to be boating on Lake Travis. Besides those pop-up islands, there is hidden debris udner the surface, lurking close to your boat's keel.

"Our needs today took us close to some of those islands, but we had to be very careful," said Lake Travis boater Andrea Warkentin.

These folks had the reassuring benefit of a depth-finder.

"We were going along, it was 70- to 80 feet, and all of a sudden it would drop to 10," said Lake Travis boater Rick Shurtz. "Best to stay on the deep side of the lake? Absolutely. Yes."

Recreation is not the only thing taking a hit form the record drought. It will have a growing impact on us all.

"A lot of us don't realize it because we turn on the tap, and there's the water," said Bob Rose, Lower Colorado River Authority Meteorologist. "Everybody is being hurt by this. Think of the crops, the farmers and ranchers. We haven't had any good rain for over a year."

Not only is there the increased likelihood of dangerous wild fires, crops face a bleak future and livestock is hurting. There is no forage. Stock tanks are dry, and without supplemental feed, cattle are dying. Of Texas, 70 percent is in a drought, the worst of it in a growing circle between Austin and San Antonio. Vets are being flooded with sick and dying livestock because of the drying conditions.

"I've been in this business for 30 years, and I've never seen anything like this," said Dr. Gary Warner, with the Elgin Veterinary Hospital. "I've been a farmer and rancher for 20 years, and it's the worst I've ever seen. We're all devastated."

LCRA is going to make an unusual move in mid-March, when they open the Travis floodgates to send water south to the rice farmers. It is going to open Buchanan at the same time, something they do not normally do. These are tough times with no relief in sight for many months.