SUMMARY: Much of the state saw less than normal rainfall over the past month. The state went from less than 7% either abnormally dry or in drought on July 16 to more than 72% on August 20. Statewide reservoir storage remains above normal. El Niño has fizzled with La Nada conditions projected through the winter. The drought is expected to persist across the state and expand in South Texas. At the end of July, I
Author: Robert Mace
Robert Mace is the Executive Director and Chief Water Policy Officer at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment and a Professor of Practice in the Department of Geography at Texas State University. Robert has over 30 years of experience in hydrology, hydrogeology, stakeholder processes, and water policy, mostly in Texas.
outlook+water: July 2019
SUMMARY: Four of the last eight years have been warmer than the Dust Bowl. The rains appear to have stopped for much of the state. Storage in Elephant Butte Reservoir is the highest it’s been since June 2010. El Niño is expected to fizzle into La Nada over the next two months with La Nada conditions projected through the winter. The drought in South Texas and the Lower Rio Grande is expected to persist and
leg+water: June 2019
Every month during the 86th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature, Dr. Robert Mace and Dr. Todd Votteler have provided an update on water-related legislation. The key water committees were Water and Rural Affairs in the Senate, and Natural Resources in the House. Read this month’s Q&A with the Chairman of those committees here to find out how the Chairman assess the results of the 86th Session. Well, it’s all over but the shouting. The
outlook+water: June 2019
SUMMARY: Above-normal rainfall continues to fall for much of the state. H. Ivie and E.V. Spence are at their highest reservoir levels since the late 1990s. However, drought is peeking back into South Texas. The odds of El Niño staying with us through the summer have decreased slightly to 66 percent with a 50 to 55 percent chance of conditions remaining through the fall and winter. The Atlantic hurricane season has been upgraded to normal
leg+water: May Update
Every month during the 86th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature Dr. Robert Mace and Dr. Todd Votteler provide an update on water-related legislation. The key water committees are Water and Rural Affairs in the Senate (SWRA), and Natural Resources in the House (HNR). Thus far, legislation related to flooding impacts from Hurricane Harvey and statewide flood planning has dominated the water-related efforts of SWRA and HNR. The House has now approved Senate Bill 7