The Texas Drought That Changed Everything
In January 2024, Lake Travis – the lifeline that supplies water to Austin – was only 38% full, a dramatic drop from the 80% capacity it held just two years earlier. Lake Travis — the largest reservoir supplying Austin — was only 38% full in January 2024, down from 80% full in January 2022. This stunning decline left thousands of rural Texans watching their wells go dry. South Texas is significantly impacted, as Lower Rio Grande reservoirs dropped from 33% to 23% full from 2023 to 2024. Local rancher Maria Gonzalez from South Texas watched her family’s 100-year-old well fail for the first time. “We never thought we’d see the day when pulling up that rope came with just dust,” she recalls. The water shortage in Texas is due to a combination of factors, including drought, extreme heat, wildfires, and climate change. These factors have exposed Texas’ weakening infrastructure and caused low water supply in some…..