Driest year on record plagues Texas ...

VOA: Weather forecasters and agriculture experts in the southwestern U.S. state of Texas say there is no relief in sight for what already is the worst drought year on record. The searing heat and dry conditions have caused devastating wildfires in the western part of the large state and led to crop losses, cattle deaths and water rationing in areas of east Texas that are normally wet at this time of year.

Driving through the countryside northwest of Houston, one sees dried up fields, dying trees and livestock ponds that are not much more than a puddles of fetid, algae-covered water. In some towns, farmers' markets have been cancelled because local growers have little to offer. Those with wells for irrigation are struggling with the high cost of fuel to run their pumps.

Debbie Cross, who operates a farmers' market near Cypress, Texas, says people are becoming discouraged by the lack of rain and the high temperatures, which are around 40 degrees most days.

“The drought is hurting everything. It is hurting all the crops, the cattle, the hay. There is no grass. The chickens are miserable. I mean everybody is just miserable. We need water,” Cross said.

Cross says local farmers are unable to supply much fruit and vegetables and that she is getting by with produce trucked in from other states where conditions are better.

“We are getting it from the local southern states and southwestern states are kicking in -- Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma. Everybody knows that the Texas market is a great consumer market, so they are helping out a lot here,” Cross said.
a\
One of the hardest hit agricultural sectors is livestock. Texas is the biggest cattle producer in the United States and ships beef to many foreign markets. Earlier this year, ranchers endured one of the worst winters on record, with several days of subzero temperatures in a region where freezes are rare. The drought has made it even harder, driving up the cost of hay and leaving some areas so dry that cattle have died of thirst in their pastures.

One rancher who has managed to get through this crisis with most of her stock in fairly good condition is Dorie Damuth, owner of the Flying D ranch near Magnolia, Texas.

Damuth raises prize-winning Texas Longhorns for breeding and she has managed to find hay and enough water to keep them alive. She says she has seen dry spells before, but nothing that compares to this year.

“The drought is something I, as a cattle woman, and all of my fellow cattlemen and cattlewomen have never experienced before. This is probably the 100-year drought, just like you can have a 100-year flood. It is very devastating for all of us ranchers who work so hard to provide beef for our country as well as for around the world,” Damuth said.

In a dried up lake on her property, there is a Longhorn skull sitting on top of cracked earth that is muddy and soft underneath.

“We have had lakes and stock ponds on the ranch that have dried up because of no rain, no rainfall. They will dry down to a little mucky place in the middle that is still wet and the cattle will sometimes go down and try to get water and they can't. And they step into that mucky mud and it is kind of like quicksand, and they can't get out.”

Lately, there have been beautiful fluffy clouds floating over the area. But ranch hand Chris Quinters is not encouraged by them.

“Those are some nice clouds, but it don't look like they are going to bring any rain,” Quinters said.

Tough water restrictions in League City ...

LEAGUE CITY, Texas – Severe drought conditions have prompted city officials here to order the strictest water restrictions in Southeast Texas.
At Kelley’s Country Cookin in League City, diners are finding something unusual.
"This is the first year that it’s ever happened," says manager Jennifer Salas.
The city called her last week and told her stage 5 water restrictions were in effect.
That means restaurants can no longer offer water. They can only serve it if customers specifically ask.

While Salas said she’s received no complaints from customers, some of them wondered Sunday whether the restriction was necessary.
"It’s probably a little much," Yessika Katcham said. "Because we’re used to drinking water at restaurants."
Still, Salas agreed with the city’s conservation efforts due to the record-breaking drought.

The water rationing means League City residents can’t water their lawns at all.
"My yard is looking horrible," Adrian Keith said. "My trees - it looks like fall at my house."

Businesses like professional carwashes can use water only between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The city has also closed its pool and won’t maintain the water level.
Violations could cost up to $500.

League City may have the toughest water restrictions. But they are certainly not the only ones in place around Houston.

Galveston has also banned all outdoor watering – although it hasn’t gone as far as League City with other restrictions. Residents in the Woodlands can only soak their lawns on certain days. Katy and Sugar Land have voluntary restrictions.
Houston’s mayor says the city will likely move to mandatory restrictions by the end of this week.

Clear Lake to host water quality conference

By Texas State University

CLEAR LAKE — The Texas Stream Team, based at Texas State University-San Marcos, and the Houston-Galveston Area Council will host the Meeting of the Monitors Conference Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 in Clear Lake at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake.

Attendees can network with staff from more than 15 environmental organizations such as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Water Environment Association of Texas and the Galveston Bay Foundation.

The conference will provide educational and networking opportunities for resident water quality monitors and professionals working in the environmental field.

It also will provide opportunities for the public to learn about relevant water quality issues in Texas.

Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in trainings and workshops on macroinvertebrate identification; fish dissection; data analysis; the monitoring of nutrients, turbidity, streamflow, mussels, invasive species and phytoplankton.

“A collaborative approach to watershed planning is essential,” said Kerry Niemann, the TCEQ nonpoint source program manager.

“That is why it is so important to actively engage citizens by bringing them together to help in information gathering, such as volunteer monitoring efforts and decision making.

The forecast?

Drought uncovers space shuttle Columbia debris

(CNN) -- The recent drought has ruined millions of acres of farmland in Texas, turning lakes into mud puddles, and has many praying for rain.
But in the East Texas city of Nacogdoches, authorities say, the drought may have done something good by helping unearth a piece of the space shuttle Columbia.

The object, which is about 4 feet in diameter, was found in a local lake. NASA says it is a tank that provides power and water for shuttle missions.
"It's one of ours," said Lisa Malone, a spokeswoman for the agency.
Malone added that NASA is trying to develop a plan to recover the item,
But it could take weeks to get it, she said.

"We're looking into whether we'll send a team out or local authorities can," Malone said.

Authorities say the object was found after the drought caused the waters to recede in Lake Nacogdoches, and they notified representatives from NASA on Friday.

"The lower water level has exposed a larger than normal area on the northern side of the lake," said Sgt. Greg Sowell of the Nacogdoches Police Department.
The item is full of mud and is in a remote area near a private shoreline, Sowell said.

Nacogdoches made headlines in 2003 when debris from the shuttle Columbia disaster was found there.

The spacecraft broke up while re-entering Earth's atmosphere near the end of its mission on February 1, 2003.

"We want to remind everyone that the rules are the same as they were back in 2003. If this object is indeed a part of the shuttle, it is government property, and it is a criminal offense to tamper with it," Sowell said.