By Janet Jacobs
Daily Sun
Despite light rain Monday, the county is behind in rainfall for the last 12 months. Still, it hasn’t gotten into drought stages just yet.
On Monday, Navarro Mills was at 421.59 feet above sea level, only slightly higher than mild drought conditions. Navarro Mills is the county’s primary source of drinking water.
Corsicana can declare a mild drought, with contingency measures, when the lake reaches 421.5 feet, according to City Manager Connie Standridge. During a mild drought, the city may ask residents to help conserve, however, usage isn’t as high in the winter months as during the summer months, so it won’t be as simple as asking people not to water their lawns.
The city code defines a mild drought as when the lake reaches 421.5 feet above sea level, or when the city’s average daily water use equals or exceeds 85 percent of the city’s treatment capacity for seven straight days.
The current usage is about 6 million gallons per day, much lower than the 20 million gallons per day of treatment capacity.
“Based on the average usage, we are as much as two weeks away from voluntary conservation, possibly more,” Standridge stated. “Of course, that assumes we receive no rainfall.”
People don’t think about droughts during the winter months, but too little water affects farmers and ranchers anytime of the year, explained Derek Scasta, extension agent with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
“I think we’re always cognizant of drought and dry periods during the summer, but during the winter we kind of forget about it,” he said. “We’re extremely dry right now.”
Winter dry spells can cause stock tanks to go dry, or force cattle to try to walk through heavy or deep mud to reach water, which can be dangerous for animals, Scasta said.
“We had a pretty hard summer and fall,” Scasta pointed out. “We’re pretty short on water right now.”
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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com
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