TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – Low lake levels are affecting Texas farmers for the rest of the summer as local drought contingency plans have limited water used for irrigation.

John Hofmann, Executive VP of Water for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), said with the hottest, driest months upon the Lone Star state, low lake levels have prompted water conservation efforts in several areas.

Hofmann said irrigation from Central Texas to the Texas coast has been affected by these conditions through the rest of this season. The agency is restricting water from the Highland Lakes, used for irrigation, to only one “season” instead of two – cutting water off for farmland through the rest of the summer months.

“Under our water management plan, under certain drought conditions we don’t allow water for the second irrigation season,” said Hofmann. “So our second irrigation season received no allotments of water for the latter half of the summer, so they’re just finishing out what they got for the first half of the summer as we speak.”

Stage one of the drought contingency plan requires cities to ask residents to voluntarily reduce their water use by about five percent. This is mostly done by limiting activities like running sprinklers and watering yards. Stage two of water restrictions would mandate customers to curtail water use by 10-20 percent.

For more on the LCRA’s drought contingency plan, read it here.