Printable VersionA story on the front page of the Tuesday edition of the Today’s News-Herald reported that a small town in Texas had run out of water.
The Colorado River in Texas, not to be confused with the beautiful Colorado River that makes up Lake Havasu, has supplied the areas around Austin, Texas, with it potable water. The village of Spicewood Beach, a community located on Lake Travis, has only about 500 water connections that serve roughly 1,100 people and an elementary school.
The Lower Colorado River Authority began trucking water into the village Monday.
Local authorities said the people of Spicewood Beach had done a great job of conserving water for the past year. They have watched the lake level drop since October 2010 when the worst single-year drought in Texas started. The village’s 129,000-gallon water tank has not run completely dry. It holds four days of water supply for the village.
Clearly, Lake Havasu City has a far more sophisticated water-delivery system and many more connections but the Southwest has been suffering from drought for years. According to weather analysts, the drought started in this area around 1999 and has continued. Some say it could last up to 60 years.
That’s a long, dry spell and one that could result in water shortages.
Each year, those in the Lower Colorado River area of Arizona pray for heavy snowfall in the high country in order to replenish the local water table. So far this year, that hasn’t been the case.
Residents along the River have been good water stewards probably because the River supports so much from recreation to life itself. Those further down the food chain that are recipients of water from the mighty Colorado may not have an appreciation for its beauty and splendor, but do need it to live.
Should the drought continue through the next many years, residents should continue conserving and treasuring this natural resource lest water trucks start rolling down the streets of Lake Havasu City.
— Today’s News-Herald
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