BY SIENNA WIGHT
Average water in ows into lakes Buchanan, Travis
Diving in deeper
The following data represents the estimated amount of water owing into lakes Buchanan and Travis from rivers and streams. On average, in ows have dropped dramatically, even from the drought of record in 2008-2015.
Water in ows play a large role in lake storage. Hamilton said that human-made ponds are causing reduced in ows by retaining water that could ow into the lakes. According to the CTWC, nine out of 10 of the worst annual in ows have occurred since 2006, and 2022 was the worst year on record. “It’s something that we’ve been concerned about for a while,” Hofmann said. “We’re ... at the early stages of trying to see what [aerial] technology can do to allow us to better get a handle on how these impoundments might factor into the amount of runo ... [in the] water supply reservoirs.”
200K
Average (1942-2025) Drought of record (2008-2015) 2026
150K
100K
50K
0
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May June July Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
SOURCE: LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY COMMUNITY IMPACT
Looking ahead
Understanding drought
There’s a chance that El Niño conditions will emerge this summer, Cockrell said. El Niño is a period of warmer sea-surface temperatures, often leading to increased rainfall. “El Niño conditions can exist,” Hamilton said. “It doesn’t mean Texas will get rain. … El Niño is a hope, not a promise. And it’s hard to hope for a ood because that is devastation.” Tuma said that it will not necessarily take ooding to replenish the lakes, but it will require a signi cant amount of rainfall within certain conditions, such as location and soil moisture. The TCEQ is currently reviewing the LCRA’s Water Management Plan update, but it could take a couple of years for it to be implemented, Hofmann said.
“As folks look to groundwater to keep their land- scape alive, neighbors next door who use [it] for their indoor potable use might turn on their faucet one day, and their pump will pump air,” Cockrell said. “It really does put people’s water supply at risk, whether they use that for irrigation or indoor plumbing.”
As of March 17, 66% of the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District is under extreme drought conditions. Under extreme drought conditions, people tend to utilize more groundwater, according to SWTC- GCD General Manager and hydrogeologist Lane Cockrell.
According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, there are four general types of drought.
Understanding drought
Meteorological drought • Lower rainfall and reduced runoff
Agricultural drought • Soil lacks water, and plants yield less
Hydrological drought
Socioeconomic drought • Economic, social and environmental impacts
• Reduced
streamflow and water inflows
Time
SOURCE: NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER COMMUNITY IMPACT
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