Drought continues

Source: Odessa American, TexasJuly 28--Despite recent rain, experts say we're still in a drought.self storage"People still need to pay attention to water usage," John Grant, general manager of the Colorado River Municipal Water District, said. "The rain helped, but not as much as we would have liked it to."According to the National Weather Service, Odessa received up to an inch and a half of rain between Monday and Thursday.While the rain did bring a couple of inches of water to Lake Thomas, which is about two percent full, and Lake Spence, now about 5.7 percent full, drought conditions at both remain severe, Grant said.The Associated Press reported that about a dozen Texas water districts could be 45 days away from running out of water. Rivers and lakes are at their lowest level since 1990 for this time of year.Lake Ivie, which is about 17 percent full, received about four feet of water, and the drought level remains moderate, but overall Grant said water levels are down at all three lakes since Jan. 1.Odessa currently gets all of its water from the Colorado River Municipal Water District, mostly from the Lake O.H. Ivie reservoir, Grant said."It hasn't been as brutal as it has in the last couple of years," Grant said. "We're not out of the drought by any means."Water restrictions remain in effect as a precaution even though CRMWD is not currently restricting water to the city, Odessa City Manager Richard Morton said.Homes with even numbered addresses can water Tuesdays and Saturdays and homes with odd numbered addresses can water Wednesdays and Sundays. There are no restrictions on the times or the way residences water.All restrictions for vehicle washing and washing buildings and sidewalks remain lifted.Meanwhile, the City of Odessa is continuing efforts to drill a well in Fort Stockton to the Capitan Reef Aquifer.The original plan to build to drill a well in Ward County to the same aquifer was put on hold because Fort Stockton claimed their water is better.Morton said the monitoring well was completed this week and initial field tests indicate that the water quality is very good.A pump is scheduled to be installed Friday so a sample can be sent for additional tests, he said."I think by the end of this month, we'll know for sure about that water quality," Morton said. "So far, it's good."After that, Morton said they'll recommend moving to the second test well, which will use the monitoring well to determine the quantity of water in the aquifer.The total cost so far is about $602,000 and the Odessa Development Corporation has approved a total of $817,000, Morton said.CRMWD is not involved right now but may wish to participate down the road if the city proves the project is viable, Morton said.When asked about the political side of matters with the Middle Pecos Groundwater District and CRMWD while drilling in Fort Stockton, Morton said the process is going well."I haven't heard anything," Grant said. "I would hope we could find some other water supplies out here in West Texas and this may be an option, even though it may need some treatment."CRMWD completed a 45-mile pipeline in December for groundwater with the capacity to move 30 milli迷你倉n gallons of water daily from fresh groundwater sources in Ward County, Morton said.That pipeline was built in addition to an existing pipeline in Ward County that can pump about 15 million gallons a day, he said.However, the newer pipeline, which cost about $120 million to build the entire project, including well fields and pumps, and the older pipeline are not being used now because there isn't a demand for it, Grant said."Demands have been low," Grant said Tuesday. "We haven't used (the $120 million pipeline) more than seven days this year and that's when we were doing maintenance on the other system."Grant said he doesn't think they will need to use that pipeline unless demands seriously pick up but that it was important to build for the future so there is always enough water to get by in the event of another drought."We can probably get by because the rain the cooler weather has helped a whole lot," he said. "I think people are more conscious about water usage in West Texas because of the drought."That newer pipeline was paid for by CRMWD but they recover their cost through rates to Odessa and other customers, Morton said."Everybody is watching what we do real closely," Morton said during the ODC meeting Thursday. "To appease the Middle Pecos Groundwater District, we upgraded some of the things we were doing on this well. I think they were pleased. ... I think it's good and we're moving forward."The Capitan Aquifer is brackish water, so a desalination plant and pipeline will need to be built for about $180 million if the city goes ahead with that plan. First, the city would need approval from the Odessa City Council, Fort Stockton City Council and the Middle Pecos Groundwater District to authorize the export of water, Morton said."A lot of cost for treating brackish water, or salty water, is the electricity to pump," Morton said. "The less brackish it is, the less electricity it takes to pump through so this is very good (quality)."However, if the water quality comes back the same or worse than the brackish water in Ward County, the city will likely build the desalination plant in Ward County because that project is cheaper as it's closer to Odessa, Morton said."If it came back anywhere near what it was in Ward County, it doesn't make sense to go build a pipeline twice as far to get the same quality water," he said.CRMWD also announced plans Thursday to search for additional water sources.The district will accept proposals until Oct. 17 and has already been been approached by several land and business owners, Grant said.It is also a possibility CRMWD could join forces with the City of Odessa on the current well in Fort Stockton, Grant said."When we're looking for water supplies our board is planning 50 years into the future," Grant said. "The district's goal is to secure the next source of water supply and have it ready to develop when we need it."--Contact Michelle Brownstone on twitter at @OAcitylife or on Facebook at OA Michelle Brownstone or call 432-333-7782.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Odessa American (Odessa, Texas) Visit the Odessa American (Odessa, Texas) at .oaoa.com Distributed by MCT Information Services文件倉