Posted: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:00 AM - 8,042 Readers

By: The Associated Press

The Lower Colorado River Authority could seek stricter water restrictions after heavy rains in mid-September did little to ease the drought.

"The drought is not over," said LCRA board member Tim Timmerman.

The average elevation for Lake Travis in September is 665 feet above mean sea level, according to the LCRA. The level Friday was 630 feet.

The intensity of the drought over the past two years could compel the LCRA to require municipal and industrial customers to curtail water use earlier than called for in a state-approved drought plan. Staffers told board members Wednesday that the LCRA may ask for "special emergency relief" from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for flexibility in managing supplies.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that the board will receive staff recommendations in October.

"We're trying to deal with an unpredictable future while managing an incredibly important resource in our basin," said LCRA general manager Tom Mason.

About 15.5 percent of Texas, all in the southern and central parts of the state, is classified under the most extreme two categories of drought, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's drought monitor map released Thursday. That's down from 25 percent two weeks ago but much higher than the 2.4 percent a year ago.

An LCRA staff analysis indicates that, in severity if not length, the current drought is more intense than the dry spell of the 1950s — considered to be the area's "drought of record." LCRA's state-approved water management plan determines steps the authority takes over the course of a drought to stretch water supplies.

The drought began in September 2007 and has been accompanied by an unusually hot summer with dozens of days over 100 degrees. A drought worse than the one in the 1950s could force the LCRA to ask for additional restrictions, board members were told.

"These two years are so much worse than any two years of the drought of record," according to Karen Bondy, manager of river services.

Heavy rains last week provided only 1 percent of what was needed to fill LCRA lakes.

*  Story Contributed by: The Associated Press