by CLAIRE CARDONA
The Texas Tribune
More anthills than blades of grass are visible in some of the cracked earth around Junction. The year-long drought has plagued the town – as it has the rest of the state – and for a painful, six-week stretch, Junction banned all outdoor watering.
Some 4.5 inches of rain earlier this month increased the flow of the Llano River, two forks of which meet at the town. But the water is still pretty low – and four panelists at the Texas Water Symposium last week brought some unwelcome news to the townspeople: It’s not going to get any better anytime soon.
“As the state climatologist, people ask me, ‘When’s it going to rain?’” said John Nielsen-Gammon, one of the panelists, who is a professor of meteorology at Texas A&M University and the state’s climatologist.
The answer, according to Nielsen-Gammon, is “eventually,” but chances are the drought will last another year, possibly even another decade.
The weather, or lack thereof, can be attributed to La Niña, a cyclical weather pattern resulting in cooler waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Meteorologists say that although La Niña had faded by the summer, it has now returned and is strengthening.
In the past 12 months, Texas has seen 11.1 inches of rainfall on average, according to Nielsen-Gammon, and it broke a heat record for the country that was previously set during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Texas AgriLife Extension Service estimates the cost of the drought to be about $5.2 billion, and that estimate – already out of date because it was compiled two months ago – doesn’t include the impact to several kinds of crops and the forestry industry.
Junction, known as the land of living waters, has seen some of its streams dry up. In August, town officials say, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told Junction to cease outdoor water use of any kind when the town of Llano downstream reported it was close to running out of water.
The restrictions have since eased. Joe Robbins, the water and wastewater superintendent at the Junction water plant, said that the TCEQ recently clarified that a blanket ban on outdoor watering was not in fact required, and that Junction residents could go back to watering one day per week and using hand watering as necessary.
However, “we went about six weeks without any type of outdoor water, not even hoses,” said Kimble County Judge Andrew Murr. “People were taking water from their baths and using it to water their lawns.”
When the football field dried up, Murr said, parents and locals concerned children would get hurt on the harder ground put out a call for help and began hauling water from donors who had wells outside of town.
In Texas, water rights are issued by the TCEQ in order of seniority — a sort of first-to-settle, first-in-line system. Entities whose claims were put in relatively recently can be required to reduce their water use when more “senior” users (like the town of Llano) run low.
