Texas Drought
By: Maggie Stone and Maddie Humelsine
Background Information
Over half of Texas drinking water comes from underground aquifers, and the remaining drinking water in Texas comes from water reservers such as groundwater, lakes and rivers.
In 2011, a record was set for the driest year in Texas ever. Only 14.8 inches of rain fell that year, due to the La Niña. This is a weather pattern where temperatures increase in the Pacific, causing temperatures to increase and climate to become drier in the southern U.S.
Unfortunately, recent studies show that Texas water reservers are only 65% full, and almost 7% of Texas is in the worst stage of drought. It is only a matter of time before the Lone Star State runs out of water.
Will we run out?
Some cities in Texas have come close to completely running out water. For example, San Angelo in west Texas recently almost came within a year of becoming completely running out of water. But the drought is not over. According to Texas Committee of Environmental quality, about 23 communities are within 180 days of running out of water. Many of these communities are located in West Texas near San Angelo.
We’re experiencing a drought, but I don’t want to experience people stopping to come to San Angelo,” Ms. Farmer said (Local council member)
Daily Water Usage & the impact it has gobally and ecology?
Our daily water usage impacts the local and global ecology because of the excessive heat in Texas, causing citizens to use more water, however the more water used, the greater the cost for the economy creating less money as an end result for the state, country, etc. Leaving an ending question of would you rather waste your money and water to create a better 'outside', greenery, gardens, or etc. or whether one would want to save that money in order to use it on more useful things for themselves or their community.
Why/How to Conserve Texas Water?
Worldwide, there is a limited amount of water left to use, therefore we need to save as much as we can and not waste water for stupid things.As a state, since Texas is very humid, hot and dry, we can set up times to schedule when to use water and water ones gardens, trees, etc. As an individual, take it upon yourself to water your lawn at night, because grass, plants, and soil can absorb water more efficiently because it won't automatically be evaporated as it would be during the day. We can change our future, by actually trying to reduce, reuse, and recycle the water we use daily, for example take shorter showers, turn off the water while brushing your teeth, and be smart with your water usage also. If it rains one day, don't water your grass the following day.