Will this drought ever end?

When you grow up in Texas, or have at least lived here for a few years, you know that the summers can be brutal. There is little to no rain and it’s scorching hot to the point where you feel like you are melting the second you step outside.

But I feel like this may be one of the worst droughts I’ve experienced.

The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map shows that 62.10% of Texas is in severe drought conditions or worse; 33.99% is in extreme drought conditions or worse; and 11.67% is in exceptional drought conditions. As for Hays County, listed in the exceptional drought section (the worst) of the map, 100% of people are being affected by drought.

It’s almost every week that we hear of a wildfire hitting the area and county/city officials reminding us that pretty much anything can cause a spark.

While there have been pockets of rain throughout the state of Texas, it’s not nearly enough — officials had to remind residents that Hays County is very much still in a burn ban. Out of the 254 counties in Texas, 211 are under a burn ban.

And we’ve been dealing with the devastating reality that Jacob’s Well Natural Area in Wimberley is still at zero flow for the sixth time in its recorded history. The 140-foot-deep natural spring is a popular recreational destination for both residents and out-of-town tourists. Typically, hundreds would pack up their cars to visit Jacob’s Well’s constant 68-degree water to cool off in the Texas summer heat.

Due to low water levels, swimming was suspended beginning in the spring for the foreseeable future. That was not the first time that the park was closed for swimming — it most recently happened in August 2022 because significant rainfall was needed to recharge the Trinity Aquifer.

Not too far from Jacob’s Well, Blue Hole Regional Park has been experiencing similar issues. It was announced on Aug. 21 that the swimming area at Blue Hole was going to be closed for two weeks because of unusually low water levels.

But then on Tuesday, Aug. 29, officials announced that they made the decision to completely shut down swimming for the remainder of the season because the section of Cypress Creek that flows through Blue Hole has not regained a safe depth.

A question that keeps circulating in my mind is if this is the new normal for summer. Are we going to have to watch our beloved natural resources diminish every year because of low water levels? Will people ever be able to swim again in the natural springs? How much rainfall is significant to recharge the aquifers? Should we anticipate simultaneous wildfires in the summer?

I know that this is not a problem specific to Hays County.

I saw a Facebook post a few days ago comparing what Belton Lake in my hometown looked like in 2007 to today. The dam was underneath a good portion of the water 16 years ago, while today, the levels are so low that there may not even be a point to take a boat out on the lake. And you can see little “islands” that are typically underwater, but have resurfaced.

All of this is to say that I feel like we are in a never-ending drought. Let’s hope, pray and dance for rain.

Navarro is the editor of the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. She can be reached at [email protected].