Archives > Lewisville Leader > News
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
April a key month for drought severity
By Chris Roark
Croark@acnpapers.com
As is often the case this time of year, rainfall totals during the next few weeks will be pivotal in determining the severity of a potential drought in North Texas.
The Metroplex is already starting from behind.
As a result, area bodies of water are down. In Denton County, Lewisville Lake is down 1.28 inches, and Grapevine Lake is down 1.07 inches. In Collin County, Lavon Lake is 5.13 inches below normal. And in the far east side of the Metroplex, Lake Ray Hubbard is 2.53 inches below normal.
Some areas have already implemented Stage 1 water conservation measures simply because of low rainfall. Flower Mound, for example, has an ordinance that mandates water restrictions kick in April 1 and run through Oct. 31. During that period, outdoor watering is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
"That's because the temperature is getting up there, so we lose a lot of water in irrigation from evaporation," said Ken Parr, the town's director of public works. "If the drought continues, that could change."
Parr said Stage 2, which would be more restrictive, would be imposed if lake averages continue to fall and water supplies struggle getting to the town.
"It's too early to tell if we'll go to Stage 2," Parr said. "The weather cycles could change. May and June could have heavy rain cycles, and that could cause us to go all summer without leaving Stage 1."
But some cities in the Metroplex have other issues to worry about in addition to the uncertain spring rainfall.
In places like Plano, Frisco and McKinney, a 22.5 percent cut in water supply to the North Texas Municipal Water District has also created the need for more water conservation.
NTMWD has implemented a Stage 1 Water Conservation Level beginning April 19. This aims to reduce water usage by 2 percent, increase awareness of the issue and encourage residences and businesses to identify any leaks and get them repaired.
This is the result of zebra mussels being identified in the Lake Texoma pump system.
The mussels, named for the striped design on their outer shell, spread from Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries through the widespread drainage systems and migrated to countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Great Britain and Canada. The first strain of zebra mussels didn't appear in North America until 1988 when they were first discovered in the Great Lakes. By 1994, the mussels had been spotted in 20 states and in July of 2009, a population of zebra muscles was found in Lake Texoma, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior's Geological Survey.
The invasive bivalves live in water pipes and can clog the flow of water and cause untold damages to pumping equipment. They can also affect their surrounding ecosystem by consuming the food supply such as phytoplankton and other protozoans and bacteria, according to the Interior Department.
"With that in the Red River Basin, the district is not pumping supply from Lake Texoma to keep the zebra mussels from reaching the Trinity River Basin," said Denise Hickey, spokesperson for NTMWD. "We're working with state agencies on strategies to minimize the amount that gets into the Trinity River Basin."
The water is pumped from the Red River Basin to Sister Grove Creek, a tributary that leads to Lake Lavon.
Staff writer Danny Gallagher contributed to this report
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: News «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
