The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today released a map of Texas counties in drought conditions for the week of March 11 and included a graph showing the dramatic decrease in Canyon Lake’s storage.
Since 1990, Canyon Lake on the Guadalupe River has experienced three extended low-storage periods, according to Mark Wentzel, Ph.D, a hydrologist with the Office of Water Science and Coordination.
Conservation reached a low of 68.6% percent of capacity in September 2009. Lake levels fell to 75.4% in January 2015.
The U.S. National Weather Service West Gulf River Forecast Center called the latest lake storage data the “Haves and the Have Nots.”
The current statewide lake capacity is at 72.7%. While that is similar to this point in time for the last several years, it’s about 10% below the 30-year median.
Water is not as evenly distributed as lakes east of the I-35 corridor are running nearly full while to the west drought has put them in critically low levels, the forecast center said.
Drought map conditions for the week of March 5 show Comal County in severe drought, according to TWDB.
For the second consecutive week the area of the state impacted by drought was unchanged while the area considered susceptible to drought in the next few weeks expanded a few percentage points.
