Canyon Lake is 48.4% full — and there’s no rain in the forecast.
According to the U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook released Feb. 28 by the U.S. National Weather Service, drought will persist in South Central Texas at least through March thanks to the La Niña weather pattern.
“Due to the dry and warm conditions over the fall and winter months, partly because of La Nina, drought has set in and is expected to persist and expand across Texas this month,” the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) said on social media.
Drought has intensified in Central and South Texas. As of Monday, March 3, Canyon Lake was in extreme drought.
Most of Texas hasn’t had a rainy day in more than two weeks, and parts of West Texas haven’t seen rain in more than 100 days.
A “rainy day” means an area receives 0.04 inches or more of precipitation.
When I look at the area immediately around the lake, It looks like a subdivision. Where is the wilderness? The immense population growth in the Hill Country of Texas, combined with an extend drought has strained the water resources, Unchecked growth and land development is unsustainable. This is the real conversation that needs to take place. Continuing to write about how everyone is praying for rain to fill the lakes, is senseless.
When the dam was finished in 1969, it took 4 years to fill to the conservation level. At that time, the population of New Braunfels area and around the lake was 495,000. Today, 55 years later, the approx . population, according to the census, is 1.5 million. 3 times more. Think about that! In 1978, hurricane Addilene came off the gulf and the tropical storm actually moved over the hill country and flooded the surrounding area. The last hurricane/ tropical storm to hit the Texas Gulf Coast of that caliber, was “Harvey” that flooded Houston. 40 years between storms. the Hydro generator at the canyon lake dam, built in 1984, is the reason the lake is dropping at the current rate. The power co. is selling power from that station to somewhere. It would be nice if that small generator was shut down for a while and power diverted in from somewhere else. It shouldn’t be much longer and Canyon Lake will look just like Medina lake in Bourne. Sweet!!!!