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Texas Water Supplier Moves To Cut Off Rice Farmers


Officials overseeing water in Central Texas have moved to cut off farmers' allotments from reservoirs for the second year in a row.

The Lower Colorado River Authority board unanimously voted in Austin Tuesday to withhold water to downstream farmers if the combined storage of Lakes Travis and Buchanan is less than 850,000 acre-feet on March 1.

Storage was measured this week at slightly more than 820,000 acre-feet. It's unlikely that enough rain will fall to raise that level enough.

The LCRA has continued to deal with a persistent drought. About 65 percent of the state remains in a state of severe drought. Its board had voted in November to cut off rice farmers only if the combined storage fell below 775,000 acre-feet on Jan. 1 or March 1.

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