Drought aid tough to come by -167 Texas counties are classified as disaster

[sonias]

AAS 7/16/09
Drought aid tough to come by
Perry declares 167 Texas counties to be in a state of disaster.

In letters to Gov. Rick Perry in February asking him to declare a state of emergency, officials in Bastrop and Caldwell counties said the areas were "facing significant threats to life, health and property" because of the persistent drought and had an "inability or the limited ability for recovery from such losses."

(snip)

Since the beginning of the year, 11.3 inches of rain have been measured at Camp Mabry, a monitoring site in West Austin; the average is 18.4 inches. Many of the streams and rivers that feed the Highland Lakes, including the Pedernales River, have all but dried up. The lakes provide irrigation, drinking water and recreation opportunities.

Officials with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service at Texas A&M University estimate that dry-land farmers, who depend solely on rain to grow crops such as corn, sorghum, cotton and hay, will face losses of 70 to 80 percent this year and said that Texas farmers will lose more than $1 billion.

(snip)

A federal declaration enables farmers and ranchers to seek recovery assistance, including low-interest loans.

We're burning up in Texas. Please send rain!

Sonia

[Lithos]

1. Would help

If LCRA wasn't being operated as a "for-profit" agency instead of a conservatorship. As such they seem to be much more attracted to selling water at a profit to business instead of spending money on "less profitable" conservation and reuse mechanisms.

L-

[sonias]

2. Agreed

LCRA will be the death of us. They never see a development they don't like.

Sonia