Monday, August 29, 2011
Extreme drought conditions this summer have reduced many ofTexas' freshwater lakes to a fraction of their usual water levels. Central Texas, home to Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis, has seen severe effects of the drought. Those two lakes are currently 45 percent full and further drops in water levels are anticipated. Austin, the state's capital, has recorded 70 days of 100-degree heat already this summer.
The state saw less than an inch of rainfall in July alone. Residents of Henderson county are concerned thatLake Palestine has reached levels which haven't been seen since the 1980's. Some report that fishing in general has been hard-hit. Residents also report excessive sightings of snakes in and around residential areas near the lake, an effect believed to be caused by drought conditions.
Collectively, estimates recently showed the state's reservoirs to be at 68% capacity. Chris Ransom of Houston toldWikinews on August 21 thatSheldon Reservoir is "all dried up now." He went on to state that Lake Houston water levels have dropped significantly this summer. He also stated that, while an avid fisherman, he's ceased almost all such activities within the past few weeks. Meteorologist Bob Rose told news sources that heat conditions are likely to continue into September.
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 | This article featuresfirst-hand journalism byWikinews members. See thecollaboration page for more details. |
| This article featuresfirst-hand journalism byWikinews members. See thecollaboration page for more details. |
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 | This page isarchived, and is no longer publicly editable. Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication. Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to thetalk page along with your corrections, and it will bebrought to the attention of theadministrators. Please note that due to ourarchival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age. The text of this article is licensed under the terms of theCreative Commons Attribution 2.5 License |
| This page isarchived, and is no longer publicly editable. Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication. Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to thetalk page along with your corrections, and it will bebrought to the attention of theadministrators. Please note that due to ourarchival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age. The text of this article is licensed under the terms of theCreative Commons Attribution 2.5 License |
