Tag Archives: Every Drop Counts

environmental news

Remember our drought? It never really left

Our Texas Panhandle TV weather forecasters keep telling us the latest measureable precipitation fell on the High Plains way back in October.

That tells me something quite ominous: The drought that many folks thought was over during our wetter-than-normal summer season has reared its head. In my view, we never really had put the drought behind us.

We’re still about 6 inches above normal precipitation year to date, thanks to the drenching we received earlier this year. That’s all fine and dandy.

But here’s the hard truth: water remains at critically low levels.

I walked into City Hall just about four days ago and noticed the city’s “Every Drop Counts” daily water-use gauge over the first-floor elevators. On that day, the goal was set at 29 million gallons; the actual water use for the day totaled 40 million gallons. Let’s see, that’s an 11 million gallon water-use-goal deficit. Not good, Amarillo.

I harp on this on occasion, and I am aware I might sound like the proverbial “broken record.” Too bad. It bears repeating.

We cannot be squandering our water resource. Sure, the wet spring and summer was welcome. It helped produce bumper crops; it kept our playas full; it helped feed the cattle that fuel our agriculture-based economy.

But we all know this truth: Rainfall is a cyclical event. It flows — and, yes, it ebbs.

It is ebbing at the moment. Those weather forecasters dare not predict when we’ll get any measureable rain- or snowfall. They keep telling us that weather forecasting in the Texas Panhandle is a best-guess endeavor.

Until that day comes — and beyond — how about taking better care of our water?

environmental news, local news

Let’s not set a new water-use record, OK?

Amarillo residents think they need to be No. 1 … apparently.

City Hall staff reports that water usage Tuesday tied an all-time daily record, set in August 2002. Residents and businesses pumped 92 million gallons of water in a single day.

That’s a lot of, um, lawn irrigation, car washes and pool fillups.

The city’s Every Drop Counts water conservation mantra needs to be placed on the top of residents’ minds.

Yes, the city took a lot of rain early this month. My wife and I were on the road, but we heard about it. Our favorite playa, Lake McDonald, has been revived thanks to the abundant moisture.

News about heavy water use does concern me. I’m sure it concerns you, too.

I want to harken back about two years ago when the city’s administrative staff was run by a certified water expert. City Manager Jarrett Atkinson could talk water policy, conservation and management with the best of ’em. Then he quit as city manager because — as I understand it — he had difficulty working with the then-new City Council majority. He landed in Lubbock, where as city manager he is now lending his water-conservation expertise to that city’s governing council.

The message ought to remain the same in the city Atkinson left behind. Our water is not infinite.

I get that it’s hot! Summer has arrived. However, every drop of water does count. Really. It does!

environmental news, local news

Rain, rain, rain … and there's still a drought

Those of us who live on the Texas Tundra are enjoying the rain that’s pelting these parts.

We had more than an inch of it today, according to the National Weather Service office at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.

This means we’re more than 2 inches over normal precipitation for the year to date.

Great news? Absolutely!

Is it a drought-buster? Hardly.

Can we predict what the weather will do for the rest of the year? We cannot predict for the rest of the week.

I stopped by Amarillo City Hall about a week ago and noticed the city’s “Every Drop Counts” water-use monitor over the first-floor elevator. The water use goal for that day was 48 million gallons; the actual use that day was 19 million gallons. Folks who normally water their lawns time of year didn’t turn the sprinklers on to irrigate their grass.

I reckon tomorrow’s water-use meter will register similar figures.

That, too, is great news.

I prefer to stay in water-conservation mode, no matter how much rain we get.

You see, it’s going to take a literal deluge to eradicate the drought threat that continues to draw down the water flowing through the Ogallala Aquifer, which gives our region its life.

The recent rainfall — and the prospect of more of it in the days and weeks ahead — gives City Hall, the water conservation districts, the counties and even the state a chance to remind us of what some of us sometimes forget when we get any significant moisture.

It’s that the drought hasn’t let up. The Texas drought remains a serious threat to our way of life — and even our lives.