A University of Nebraska study has produced a U.S. Drought Monitor survey that provides some grim news for West and South Texas.

Three significant cities in the region are running out of water.

http://money.msn.com/investing/5-cities-running-out-of-water

Are you ready for this, Lubbock, McAllen and Harlingen? Of the five cities profiled, the other two are in Colorado: Pueblo and Colorado Springs, according to the study.

What do all these communities have in common? They’re all served by the once-massive Ogallala Aquifer, which sprawls under 11 states from Texas to the Dakotas.

The good news — if you’ll forgive the parochial nature of this observation — is that Amarillo isn’t among the endangered cities list.

But what about our neighbor to the south, Lubbock? Not so good there, the Drought Monitor says.

MSN.com reports: “Nearly half of the Lubbock area has been in a state of exceptional drought since 2011, conditions that are worse than any other U.S. city with a population of 75,000 or more. During that time, more than three-quarters of the area has been under exceptional drought in an average week.”

Lake Meredith, which once supplied Lubbock with surface water, is out of commission. The Canadian River Municipal Water Authority has stopped pumping from the lake because, um, it’s running out of water. Last I heard it was down to 26 feet — and receding. CRMWA has purchased an enormous amount of groundwater rights from T. Boone Pickens. Amarillo, meanwhile, is purchasing water rights on its own while trying secure water security for the next century or two.

I’m guessing that Lubbock is heading toward some serious water rationing. Get ready, South Plains residents.