A report published in July estimated that the record breaking temperatures this summer could cost the Texas economy $9.5 billion in real gross product. Credit: Shutterstock / Ed Connor

South Texas and other drought-ravaged portions of the state are heading into the new year with dangerously low water supplies thanks to two consecutive summers of punishing heat, Inside Climate News reports.

Large reservoirs on the Lower Rio Grande dropped from 33% to 23% of their capacity during the past 12 months, according to the nonprofit news site. Experts now warn another hot, dry year would drain those reservoirs to historic lows, prompting emergency interventions.

“Pretty scary times,” Rio Grande Regional Water Authority Jim Darling told Inside Climate News. “We’ll see what happens.”

Experts told the news organization that a rainy year or robust hurricane activity in the Gulf could avert disaster. However, despite recent downpours in San Antonio and some parts of the state, the winter has been disappointingly dry — especially for the most parched watersheds.

The effect of dwindling water supplies isn’t limited to sparsely populated stretches of South Texas either. According to Inside Climate News:

In the thriving suburbs between San Antonio and Austin, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Groundwater Conservation District has declared stage-four drought for the first time in its 36-year history.
As a conservation measure, Corpus Christi officials last month stopped releasing water into coastal bays and estuaries, a measure previously used to bolster the sensitive ecosystems.
Lake Travis, the largest reservoir serving Austin, dropped from 80% full last January to its current capacity of 38%.

Last year was the hottest year on record both for the planet and for the Lone Star State, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Texans should prepare for more hot, dry weather in 2024, cautioned Greg Waller, a coordinating hydrologist with NOAA in Fort Worth.

“Climate change means the extremes are going to get more extreme,” Waller told Inside Climate News. “The heat waves are going to get more heat. The droughts are going to get droughty-er and the floods are going to get floody-er.”

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Vote NOW for your Best of San Antonio® Finalists!

Texas faces dangerously low water supplies as experts brace for another hot summer

Sanford Nowlin

This very 1980s San Antonio mansion for sale has a crazy spiral staircase inside

This San Antonio home for sale has a horse barn and room for livestock — even though it’s in city limits

Grand three-story home for sale in Monte Vista has an attic converted into a private gym

An elegant Victorian house for sale in King William was built in 1885 by prominent San Antonio merchant

Related Stories