Kendall County’s groundwater district has moved the unincorporated areas of the county into Stage 3 drought conditions as water levels continue to drop and water ceases to fall from the sky, leaving the area in drought conditions of historic proportion.
“We’re losing water,” Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District Manager Micah Voulgaris said, noting the low spring flows and aquifer levels. “And we’re not gaining from any spring flow or anything like that. … So, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with us going to Stage 3, especially with the conditions we’re in.”
The CCGCD last issued Stage 3 drought conditions in 2018, and the same restrictions were issued in 2014, 2013 and 2012.
The Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District’s Stage 3 restrictions mean sprinkler, drip irrigation and soaker hose systems are no longer allowed in the groundwater district. However, residents may still water their lawns with handheld hoses only on a designated watering day – identified by mailing address – between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
The Stage 3 guidelines state residents in the district may no longer use groundwater to fill or refill pools, ponds, lakes tanks, fountains or reservoirs, limiting residents to replacing water lost to use or evaporation only on swimming pools or water impoundments with 250 square feet of surface area or less.
While the city of Boerne falls within the groundwater district, the local agency only has jurisdiction over groundwater wells in the county. The majority of the city’s water supply comes from the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, meaning the city implements its own drought restrictions for most public water users.
Historically, May is the wettest month of the year in the Cow Creek Groundwater District’s service area, pulling in an average of 4.45 inches. But if this past May is any indication of the forthcoming rainfall – or lack thereof – the county could be seeing drought conditions for the history books.
With the majority of Kendall County falling in exceptional drought conditions, according to the United States Drought Monitor, and the United States Seasonal Drought Outlook predicting a persistent drought through the end of August based on “large-scale trends,” the outlook for rain is bleak for the foreseeable future. Beyond the county, the drought outlook shows a persisting drought for the majority of the state, and the drought monitor shows the majority of the state falls somewhere between severe and exceptional drought.
Exceptional drought is the highest drought category from the national agency, which historically results in extreme sensitivity to fire danger, widespread tree mortality, poor water quality due to excessive algae blooms, exception water shortages in surface water sources, widespread crop losses and significant financial losses in the seafood, forestry, agriculture and tourism sectors.
The years 2008 and 2011 are the driest the groundwater district’s borders have seen since the turn of the millennium, and a single-year rainfall record hasn’t dipped below the 2008 record since 1956. While 2011 saw 3.71 inches of rain by June, 2008 had soaked up 4.94 inches by this time of the year. 2008 is the driest year the county has seen since 1956.
A mere 14.74 inches of rain fell in all of 2008 – compared to the 33.42 historic yearly average – and having rainfall rival the first five months of that year raises some concerns, the CCGCD stated. Between 2001 and 2011, the average rainfall by June is 14.34 inches, leaving this year’s rainfall flunking out and rivaling some of the area’s record drought conditions.
“Well, as you saw … we’re right below 2011, which is our worst single-year drought since we started keeping weather records,” CCGCD Precinct 1 Director Bob Webster said. “We’re just a little above that, but that’s where we’re headed. That’s the trend.”
The lack of rainfall seems to have significantly affected the water levels across the county as CCGCD General Manager Micah Voulgaris pointed out the average water level across the county is 17.9 feet below the May average as of May 26.
Under the new, stricter water guidelines, addresses ending in zero or one may water lawns Monday, those ending in two or three may water lawns Tuesday, those ending in four or five may water lawns Wednesday, those ending in six or seven may water lawns Thursday and those ending in eight or nine may water lawns Friday.
Much like the relationship between Cow Creek and Boerne, the governing agency over the Edwards Aquifer, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, has moved the Stage 3 restrictions, while the cities of San Antonio – including SAWS – and New Braunfels have retained lesser Stage 2 drought restrictions. This leaves any unincorporated areas of Bexar County using Edwards water subject to Stage 3 conditions set forth by the EAA, including the southern portions of Fair Oaks Ranch.
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