Near Mansfield Dam

Last month was one of Austin's wettest Januarys on record. It was the second wettest at Austin Bergstrom since 1943, and the fifth wettest at Camp Mabry going back to 1856. But even with the seven inches of rain Central Texas received, Lower Colorado River Authority officials said we're still in drought conditions for the area.

"This is a serious drought with serious consequences," LCRA general manager Joe Beal said.

The LCRA said the drought's far from over because where the rain was needed, it never came.

"What we need are the storms to be farther out west. So, when the rain falls it'll drain into the lakes themselves," LCRA Meteorologist Bob Rose said.

And the outlook is grim. In fact, the LCRA started its first-ever curtailment of water for farmers downstream of the Highland Lakes.

"If we have an average year of rainfall this year, then we're still going to be very, very low in these lakes a year from now," Beal said.

		WATCH THE VIDEO
	Drought continues The LCRA is taking measures to limit water use for area farmers.

There are low points out in the Lake Travis that are just two feet deep, and you can't always see the bottom. This causes problems for inexperienced boaters.

"Primarily it's because [boaters] don't take the time to learn where the hazards are," Emerald Point Marina Manager Doug Powell said.

"By the time your depth finder gets there, you're already there.
You just have to know the lake," LCRA Ranger Alan Snoddy said.

Marinas are not seeing business bottoming out with fewer customers because people still want to go boating.

"The major affect on the business side has been on the expense side. We've had to spend money to move the marina to deal
with the low water. We still have quite a few customers," Powell said.

The Emerald Point Marina is actually sitting in the middle of the lake since it had to be moved to deeper waters.

"It's gonna rain," Powell said.

Powell's optimism is high, but it'll take lots of rain and a shift in the weather to raise the lake level enough to make a difference.

"A weak tropical system to come inland, stall over the Hill Country for a day or two, produce a large amount of rain. That's what we would need to bring up both of these lakes at a short amount of time," Rose said.

Until then, authorities and lake residents are urging conservation. If the drought continues into summer, water conservation will be demanded.

	Facts about the dry conditions
* During 2005 and 2006 Texas received its lowest rainfall totals for any two-year period since 1963-1964. * Austin, for example, received 27.23 inches of rain in 2006 – 7.49 inches below average. That’s only one year after the city received 13 inches less than average in 2005. Two-year shortfall: 20.76 inches. Upstream of Austin, Mason is a typical Hill Country town. It received 17.42 inches in 2006 — 10.53 inches less than average – and 21.9 inches in 2005. Two-year total: 16.58 * inches less than average. * Because of the lack of rainfall, the amount of water flowing into the Highland Lakes during 2006 was the lowest of any year since lakes Buchanan and Travis began operating in 1942. * With lakes Travis and Buchanan just over half full now it will take widespread, above-average rainfall in the Hill Country to raise the lake levels. * Current lake levels are the sixth lowest ever for the month of January. The other years are 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952 and 1964 — four of these were during the drought of record. * Some good news: lakes Travis and Buchanan still contain more than 1 million acre-feet of water. (One acre-foot of water is equal to almost 326,000 gallons.) This is about a seven-year supply for Austin, and about a five-year supply for all LCRA's “firm water” customers. These are water users that LCRA is required to provide water to even during the most severe drought, namely cities, industries, power plants and aquatic life. * Moreover, LCRA studies show that for 2007, based on historical hydrology, the lakes will also provide sufficient water to supply most the needs of its “interruptible” customers, chiefly agricultural users in the irrigation districts.