Does Texas Need To Worry About Special Water Restrictions?

Many of us have areas in our garden or yard space that is showing major soil cracks due to a second consecutive August of experiencing severe drought conditions. Just this week, it was reported in the Killeen-Temple, Texas area that Belton Lake which provide water for much of Bell County is sitting at only 62% of normal capacity and much of the area has moved to Stage 2 water restrictions.

The pool level of area reservoirs shrinking is a legitimate concern as projections for Texas show that the state's population is expected to increase by at least 30% (probably more) over the next couple of decades. Some consider those estimates to be conservative, but the generally accepted number is more than 10 million new residents are likely to be our neighbors by around 2035 and we could be approaching the double mark of our current 30 million population by 2055.

What does this all mean if we are already struggling with water supply?

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We potentially could be in serious trouble if "Mother Nature" doesn't average out, but thankfully that usually happens across a normal macro window of years. Sometimes all it takes is one exceptionally rainy season to undo a micro period of drought.

The more sustained the drought and severity would then require an above average yearly rainfall over a series of consecutive years. The good news is everyone knows we need water to sustain life that plans have been in place for over 25 years, so we can also maintain the quality of life that we are spoiled to have by living in Texas.