Texas drought and water supplies (El Paso, Midland: gated, lawsuits, agriculture)

[High_Plains_Retired]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Build a patio deck over the top of it and use it to collect rainwater from your roof and site, it could become a real asset in this drought.

Yes, I had thought about building it into another storage barn as it is round (26' dia.), has five foot steel walls and a concrete floor. The trouble with a cistern is that we haven't had any rain to collect in many months. And too I would have about a 40' gutter run from my house roof unless I did some sort of pumping. It would also have to be completely enclosed or, with our winds, it would end up being 20,000 gallons of mud.

A cistern does sound great though and would be much more useful than more storage.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Originally Posted by Pooua

Good thinking. I collect as much rain water as I can, using whatever container I can.

I think a lot of Texans are collecting water. Just this week I sold five of my 55-gallon plastic drums to a young fellow near Levelland to collect water.

[die Eichkatze]

Originally Posted by die Eichkatze

What makes this even worse is the fact that they had no clue what the water level in their wells were...I have followed TCEQ's list of water systems in danger of running out of water within 180 days, and spicewood beach was never on the list. They(LCRA) didn't see this coming, nor did they even bother to check.

A town of less than 200 people just west of San Angelo ran out of water this week. Same thing, had no clue how much water was in their well. There are multiple water fill stations in the area for the increased oil activity, which along with the prolonged drought caused the well to not be able to produce much water(effectively went dry). Hope they can find a solution quickly.
West Texas Oilfield Town Runs Out of Water | The Texas Tribune

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by die Eichkatze

A town of less than 200 people just west of San Angelo ran out of water this week. Same thing, had no clue how much water was in their well. There are multiple water fill stations in the area for the increased oil activity, which along with the prolonged drought caused the well to not be able to produce much water(effectively went dry). Hope they can find a solution quickly.
West Texas Oilfield Town Runs Out of Water | The Texas Tribune

It is scary.

I remember people who lived outside the city limits west of Midland just a few years ago--many of their wells dried up, and they had to form a water association ($$$). I imagine the situation is yet worse now in all directions.

It's the primary reason I didn't look at properties in Alpine that had a well--I got city water, but there are issues going on with the area's water supply today, so no telling what they will end up doing.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by die Eichkatze

A town of less than 200 people just west of San Angelo ran out of water this week.

The historic mining town of Magdalena, New Mexico - with about 1,000 residents - also went dry this past week. Water is now being trucked in by tanker truck from several sources. There has been awareness of the danger of running dry but drilling a new well or deepening the existing one has been blocked by the permitting authorities in New Mexico.

Anyone noticed Chicken Little going berserk lately?

[LordyLordy]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

It is scary.

I remember people who lived outside the city limits west of Midland just a few years ago--many of their wells dried up, and they had to form a water association ($$$). I imagine the situation is yet worse now in all directions.

It's the primary reason I didn't look at properties in Alpine that had a well--I got city water, but there are issues going on with the area's water supply today, so no telling what they will end up doing.

Pfffft. There will always be water to do some fracking in (West) TX. That's all that matters. The state went through a 100 year historic drought yet the activities never stopped. Private land ownership in TX ensures that you can do whatever you want on your land, including pumping a whole aquifer underneath you dry if that pleases you.

What about all the pecan orchards and aquifers in NM? When Rio Grande used to flow, everyone and their mother irrigated their fields and put pecan orchards. Now that Rio Grande is a trickle the same people are pumping the aquifers to irrigate. How far can these aquifers be pumped? Who knows.... When someone opens their mouth to say something they get shut up by being told that people need to make a living and that's that. Or they get told that there is plenty of water to go around. Or that it is a cycle. Or whatever. Meanwhile, it's all going down the toilet ('scuse the pun)

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by LordyLordy

Pfffft. There will always be water to do some fracking in (West) TX. That's all that matters. The state went through a 100 year historic drought yet the activities never stopped. Private land ownership in TX ensures that you can do whatever you want on your land, including pumping a whole aquifer underneath you dry if that pleases you.

What about all the pecan orchards and aquifers in NM? When Rio Grande used to flow, everyone and their mother irrigated their fields and put pecan orchards. Now that Rio Grande is a trickle the same people are pumping the aquifers to irrigate. How far can these aquifers be pumped? Who knows.... When someone opens their mouth to say something they get shut up by being told that people need to make a living and that's that. Or they get told that there is plenty of water to go around. Or that it is a cycle. Or whatever. Meanwhile, it's all going down the toilet ('scuse the pun)

Water rights in TX and those in NM---whole 'nother ballgame.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Water rights in TX and those in NM---whole 'nother ballgame.

Like owning mineral rights where there is nothing worth mining, water rights mean nothing where there is no water to be had!

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

It is scary.

I remember people who lived outside the city limits west of Midland just a few years ago--many of their wells dried up, and they had to form a water association ($$$). I imagine the situation is yet worse now in all directions.

It's the primary reason I didn't look at properties in Alpine that had a well--I got city water, but there are issues going on with the area's water supply today, so no telling what they will end up doing.

Yup,

The water level on my mother's well outside of Midland dropped below the pump level last year and had to be drilled deeper. I heard of other people's wells going dry and ended up drilling dry holes looking for more water. Last year was awful!

As for that town outside San Angelo, keep in mind, Midland gets half it's water just outside of San Angelo. It used to be their main source but the drought forced Midland to build a pipeline to an aquifer over in Jal NM. The new pipe line helps but it's not a cure-all...especially with water levels keep dropping in the Angelo area.

Texas could really use a Hurricane stalling out on it for a few weeks to help recharge the aquifers.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by joqua

Like owning mineral rights where there is nothing worth mining, water rights mean nothing where there is no water to be had!