Drought problems in Austin? (Dallas, El Paso: living, moving, area)

[AMYL0452]

Hello everyone,
I've been mostly on the Dallas forum, since hubby and I are thinking of moving there next spring. However, this crazy drought/water rationing due to lack of rain scares us. Is there a similar problem in Austin? I just read how even the lakes there are drying up, and they are restricting some of the boat ramps, etc.

Maybe we'll move to Austin!

-Another Cali-ite

[RSTX]

Well, the whole state except for the desert area around El Paso (go figure) is in a drought. We in central Texas just happen to be blessed with a little more water than our northern neighbors. It also helps that there are fewer people around Austin than there are in the D/FW area. Fewer mouths, lawns and toilets.

Best of luck to you.

Rick

[AustinTraveler]

We are not under any mandatory water restrictions here in Austin. We are always under voluntary restrictions May through September where you water your lawn only every fifth day depending on your address. Like I said, it is voluntary. Austin is a very conservation-minded city which makes it a great place to live.

The water levels at Lake Travis (a huge lake west of Austin) are definitely lower than average. Lake Austin (or Town Lake) is a constant level lake as it is actually a damned up river.

I don't know if you've ever been to Austin but you really ought to visit. I wouldn't live anywhere else in Texas.

[AMYL0452]

thanks, sounds much better than the Dallas area right now. I've heard nothing but great things about Austin, no wonder it's growing!!

[musicman107]

Drought and water conditions in Austin are very unpredictable.
Lake Travis, for instance, can go from significantly lower than normal, to significantly higher than normal within a year...depending on rains, etc.
Hence, we can go from "water restriction use" to no restrictions at all from one year to the next.
Having visited Dallas/Ft Worth considerably, I'd definitely choose Austin area over D/FW....water availability would not be a huge concern for me, except perhaps in the Dripping Springs area....they just have not gotten their "water act" together....lotsa people living there have to rely upon their own wells, and the water table can drop drastically in a short time (especially in recent year or so of rapid growth), and water wells and pumps are burning up/drying up frequently.

Hello everyone,
I've been mostly on the Dallas forum, since hubby and I are thinking of moving there next spring. However, this crazy drought/water rationing due to lack of rain scares us. Is there a similar problem in Austin? I just read how even the lakes there are drying up, and they are restricting some of the boat ramps, etc.

Maybe we'll move to Austin!