If you haven’t seen the Express-News article about the drought and possible Stage Three water restrictions, please do. The picture showing Medina Lake at 16% capacity is tough to look at.
As mentioned in the article, it has seemed we’ve, at least slightly, come out of the drought this year. But not in the areas needed to refill the aquifer. Right now, we’re still in Stage Two water restrictions – which mean watering is allowed with a sprinkler once a week, based on your address. If the aquifer keeps dropping, however, SAWS may have to declare Stage Three restrictions. If that happens, and the article did mention SAWS has some latitude to not immediately declare Stage Three if the aquifer hits 640 feet, it would mean sprinklers would be allowed one day every other week, based on your address.
The good news is demand on the aquifer is down significantly, according to the article. Let’s all continue to do our part!
(Ben Hubbert formerly served in Special Ops in the Air Force, and he’s now the co-owner of Champion Air Conditioning in San Antonio, Texas. Connect with Ben on Google+.)