Water Wednesday – “Here We Go Again” said Sisyphus
texas fly fishing water conservation #flyfishing drought lake levels
WATER WEDNESDAY REVIVAL
One of the reasons I quit publishing the “Water Wednesday” report was because of the daunting set of challenges it provided. The story eventually always boils down to Texas state leaders, committees, local policy, supply and demand … a lot of things that become “wonkish” pretty quickly, highly important, but wonkish. Not to mention the fact; with no support for conservation / the fishers viewpoint / political activism, it quickly becomes a “David vs. Goliath” task – with no stones laying around.
THIS IS NORMAL
So as we embark on the revival of the Water Wednesday reports perhaps it’s time to dial down the idea that anything is going to change for the better. The politicians won’t become proactive. They won’t shift from supply to demand, and they won’t recognize the single cyclops coming toward us all is the light of a freight train in the dark. And it has the potential to derail the much of the Texas economy, and outdoor life and living – for generations to come.
How many years of “drought” does it take to adjust our science and thinking to the FACT that this is the new normal? Do we realize that all the dams, reservoirs and lakes that were built in the 20th. Century, were built in the wettest century since rainfall records were kept? These are the normal times for Texas, punctuated by “rain events” that quickly runoff or are siphoned off by an exploding population. Currently, the big picture for Monitored Texas Reservoir supplies is a little more than 35-percent down from capacity. http://www.waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/statewide
As dire as I see this situation to be, perhaps you have another perspective? We will definitely try to keep this a bit less “dark” and try to find the silver lining (fish) in the puddles that were once lakes, although I am far from optimistic on this one.
There wasn’t enough time to get out and visually show you a current video from the drought stricken lake nearest to me – Lake Ray Roberts – but we may be able to do that in the next few weeks. Talking is one thing, seeing is quite another.
Lake Ray Roberts, Texas, sits about 11 miles north of Denton, Texas, and is among a list of lakes that are part of the Trinity River Basin Reservoirs. The breakdown of the watersheds into their basins (on the water data website) do provide a very clear picture without concentrating on just one lake — http://www.waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/basin/trinity
End Note – This column is a lot of work, but we will continue to bring it to you in free form to make it easier for you to share with other fly fishers interested in the holistic experience that includes personal investment in water conservation.
Category: Culture on the Skids, Science and Environmental, Texas Water Conservation
