Drought is extreme in far West Texas and portions of Central and South Texas. Unfortunately things are likely going to get worse before they get better. Drought is expected to intensify across almost all the state, with below-average precip expected through May.

Rivers and creeks are also in bad shape, particularly in West and Central Texas. The red dots represents stream gages where flow is currently at or below the 10th percentile for this time of year. E.g. Parts of the Pedernales and Guadalupe are barely a trickle and are setting record lows.

This isn't a chart per se, but here's today's reading at the J-17 well, the well used as an index for the health of the Edwards Aquifer, the source for most of San Antonio's drinking water and the lifeblood of San Marcos, Comal & Barton Springs. It's about 40 ft below normal for this time of yr.

Most startling to me is Canyon Lake. I grew up fishing/boating here, and Canyon was just incredibly reliable. Now it's in precipitous decline, thanks in part to the insatiable demand of downstream industry. Background: This great @dylanbaddour.bsky.social story www.texastribune.org/2025/01/23/t...

If you zoom into individual reservoirs, the problem looks even more acute. E.g. Lake Amistad, a massive impoundment on the Rio Grande near Del Rio, has never been this low. Mexico's water debt plays a big part, but so does persistent drought & the slow death of the Rio as a viable river system.

As we transition into an unseasonably hot and dry spring, let's look at the state of Texas' water supply—a looming calamity told in charts. Reservoirs on three of the state's major river basins (Nueces, Guadalupe, and Rio Grande) are at or near all-time lows.

God bless the Texas Legislature. The state is the epicenter of a measles outbreak that has already killed one child and the response from GOP lawmakers is to eliminate mandatory vaccines in schools.

capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/...