Pond Boss
This drought is beyond belief!















At least they're placing cedars around the fishing dock while the opportunity exists!

This lake is around 14K acres, down 10' to 12' by the looks of it.
It's bad and getting worse. A lot of the lakes around mu place don't have a boat ramp that's touching water. Some are better than others but most are in pretty bad shape. Maybe we'll get some spring rain?
Looks like Texas: either not enough rain or too much!
True, but it has been a long, long time since my area saw too much rain!
Yep, my pond hasn't overflowed in 10 years. Without serious storms, my pond will look like Arrowhead this summer. Heck, it already does.
It is scary. The west is desert and with the lower rain levels you can imagine the results if this keeps up.
The D/FW metroplex averages 28 inches per year. In the last 3 years we are short 35 inches. This year has also been pretty grim. The unusual snow and ice storms maybe helped a little.
Thanks for posting the pics. I knew it was drought down there, but never realized it was that bad.
Dave, you should be getting some rain in Bowie pretty soon! Looks to be some heavy rain on the radar.

We might get some rain tonight, though not as heavy as what Bowie looks to get, and short-lived...but hey, it's rain! Bring it on!

If Lake Arrowhead is 14,000 acres, and it is down 10 feet, and there are 325,851.429 gallons in an acre foot, that'd mean that the lake is down 45,619,210,000 gallons, right?

Nearly 46 billion gallons, most of which was turned down the Red River after most of the waste was removed, and ended up in Lake Texoma. Since Wichita Falls is either now, or soon will be, pumping the effluent from the waste treatment plant right back to the water treatment plant, a whole lot less water will flow down the Red. I was told that over 8 million gallons a day had been dumped in the Little Wichita and went to the Red. I am not too sure of the water quality because so many chemicals are hard to remove...most of my concern is pharmaceuticals. We'll see.
Wow looks like some kind of gold rush type ghost town in an eary way.. spooky almost
This is slightly outdated but you can see the potential problems for Las Vagas running out of electricity and that part of the country because of drought that could be the new normal.

"Under pressure from the region’s growing population and years of drought, Lake Mead was down to 1,087 feet, a 54-year low, as of Wednesday.
If the lake loses 10 feet a year, as it has recently, it will soon reach 1,050 feet, the level below which the turbines can no longer run.
Those hydroelectric generators produce cheap electricity for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which is responsible for pumping water across the Colorado River Aqueduct to hydrate much of Southern California."

http://www.scpga.com/government-relation...officials-fear/
I survived a probable fish kill last fall due to low water, and see no reason not to expect the same thing this year.

This weather pattern may just be the new norm.
According to a program I was watching the American west was settled during an abnormally wet period fooling the settlers into thinking that was the norm.

I saw an article where core samples were used to determined past droughts going back hundreds of years in one of tbe Dakota states. If I remember right they determined there had been droughts that had lasted centuries. Now that's scarey!
Well, there was a big difference between what the weather radar showed the other night and reality...not a drop at the house. Maybe tonight.

Or tomorrow.

Or...
Dave, your place get any rain last night? Hopefully no damage with the winds and huge hail.
Nope, neither at Bowie or Hurst.
I spent a great part of yesterday painting gates. That wet paint didn't even draw the rain out of the clouds overhead.
How about today? The web says I got about .45 inch.
Probably about right, Dave. I didn't get out to check the rain gauge today, but the new said we got close to an inch.
Dave, we got right at 4" of rain over the weekend, and got 8" of rise in the big puddle. I would tell you how close we are to finally being at full pool, but I'd jinx myself if I did.
Al, I doubt real seriously that I have gotten 4" in the last 6 to 9 months. This drought is ridiculous.
I had .11 when I left my place Sunday morning. checked the interweb Monday and it "claims" I got .45 also. I won't know until I get there this weekend but I guess it's possible. If I had gotten(is that a word) 4", well that's just a pipedream.
We're usually in that dead zone east of the DFW cap. Rain to the north, and rain to the south, but not much here.

We've been on a roll this spring, but I'm not sure any of us will get any after May.
Well, we finally hit "Stage 5 - Drought Catastrophe" in Wichita Falls last weekend, and the surrounding towns adopted the same measures this past week. Wichita Falls-Combined lake levels have dropped below 25 percent for Lakes Arrowhead and Kickapoo.

Additional restrictions include:
•No refilling of outdoor pools using city water
•Commercial Car washes will not be allowed to use water from the city's water system on Sunday and Monday
•Surcharges are increased (betting that these will never go back to pre-drought levels regardless of future rainfall)

But there are clouds headed our way!
I was in W Falls Saturday and noticed that there had been a little bit of rain. None at my place.
Sheesh Dave, I was looking at the accumulated rainfall maps for TX and it looks like a lot of west Texas got 4"+ of rain, though not a 100% coverage. At least with a good soaking around you, it will increase chances of pop-up showers and perhaps break that infernal dome of drought high pressure. Then you can get some relief.

Good luck! Hoping for a nice fill for you soon, but not too much at once.
I heard that Lubbock got 5 inches. That's huge. Some areas of Texas got more rain in 1 day than they had gotten in the last 18 months. I got none but I only have a couple of ponds to worry about. Some of the bigger(?) cities like Wichita Falls are in a tragic situation.

Sooner or later, probably later, the Texas Railroad Commission is going to have to take a good look at natural gas fracking and the huge amounts of ground water that they use.
Originally Posted By: Dave Davidson1
I was in W Falls Saturday and noticed that there had been a little bit of rain. None at my place.


Dave, you should have called! We got 6/10ths at my place.
We got alot of rain these past few days in the houston area flash flooding and a brand spanking new toll road that noone wanted half underwater for two days. We got 5 3/4 inches a little further south.

Dave your absolutely right about the railroad commission and their practices but they'll restrict and confiscate all our resources before that happens. I hope you fellas to the north get shown some love by the rain gods as well.
I thought of that but have lost your phone #. PM me with it.
My FIL in Lubbock did get over 5 inches. I had .70 when I left my place Monday morning but we got another inch maybe by the looks of the precipitation maps. I don't have much faith in the maps though, they never agree with my rain gauge.
Just a quick update on the drought here in/around Wichita Falls...

I got about .75 inch a week ago, and I was hoping for a good deal more. that same front dropped 4.1 inches on south Alabama at my dad's place.

Our current standings on lake levels:

Last Last Current
Year Week Week
10/14/2013 10/6/2014 10/13/2014

Lake Kickapoo 34.5% 27.1% 27.0%

Lake Arrowhead 30.4% 19.3% 19.4%

Combined 31.5% 21.5% 21.5%

Lake Kemp 29.5% 27.8% 26.3%

Combined (w / Kemp) 30.1% 24.3% 23.6%

Lake Kemp is currently unuseable due to the high salt content. I'm not sure why they count it if we have no de-salinization capability.
Mark, what kind of restrictions are they having?

How are private wells holding up?
Dang. I feel for you guys and those in California.

I think the most my main pond was down was about 8 inches. The 1/3 acre pond stayed at full pool all summer.
Dave, the restrictions haven't changed...still in Drought Catastrophe - Stage Five. I think that the powers-that-be are at a loss for what to do next. Ignoring it seems to be the latest fashion, especially when someone brings up the nonexistent Lake Ringold. I think the city bought up land for another lake years ago, but never built it. Now that appears to have been a potentially fatal error for the city.

Wells, if folks have them, are still producing, but apparently the water has a high salt content.

Cat, count your blessings...this drought has definitely driven home to a lot of people the importance of the right kind of rain events.
Originally Posted By: catmandoo
Dang. I feel for you guys and those in California.
I think the most my main pond was down was about 8 inches. The 1/3 acre pond stayed at full pool all summer.


Mine is full as of last weekend.
Mine pond is 3 1/2 ft. low and getting lower. My dock is sitting on dry ground now. It would be a good time to work on it but it is deer season and it really doesn't need it but I know it will soon.
How are the deer doing on your place? Since the huge acorn drop started, we're not seeing much.
With all the recent rain has the lake come up any?
it doesnt look like it has http://waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/individual/arrowhead


the lakes around dallas have been coming up, but still a long way to go
http://waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/individual/ray-hubbard

considering the "martini glass" shape of lakes we are barely scratching the surface
Both Arrowhead and Kickapoo are about the same.
I'll gladly donate some water. I pretty much had to swim from Mt. Pleasant to Clarksville this weekend. Both sides of 37 are under water for a good stretch.
I was reading that the scientist are starting to think that the warming of the arctic is changing the jet stream that has been keeping the west hot and dry and the east cold with moisture as it sweeps out of the Pacific Ocean in the high north and drops way down splitting the country in half to Florida. Now the jet stream is back up and crossing Canada.
I saw Arrowhead Friday it made me sick Hard to look at
It's up allot in the past couple of days. At this rate it could be full pool by the end of the weekend.

News says lots of flooding in the area though. testing and setting records for short term rainfall.

http://www.waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/individual/arrowhead
Kickapoo is now 100% full. With the heavy rains coming the next couple of days, Arrowhead ought to fill.

I talked to Mobilus on the phone and he got a 5" rain that filled his 2 acre dry pond to 3.5 acres.
I was half joking when i thought arrowhead would fill over the weekend. I mean it was 66% full but the martini glass shape of lakes that's still a whole lot of water... but wow.

water data says 95% full

1 week ago
2015-05-19
percent full 50.0
water level 916.44
Height above conservation pool -9.56

Today
2015-05-26
percent full 95.5
water level 925.27
Height above conservation pool -0.73



Unfortunately it looks like the rain missed Lake kemp so i guess TPWD wont be reopening the dundee hatchery anytime soon.
Brian, Grapevine, according to the WATER FOR TEXAS website, is 20 ft above full pool. That's amazing. Bastrop State Park lost it's dam this morning.

Yeah, Kemp is still only 53% full and a lot of West Texas lakes have gotten very little rain.
yah the pictures of water flowing over texohma's damn are pretty impressive too.

a couple of months ago you coudlnt get a boat into lavon because water was too low, now most of the dallas area lakes are 10+ ft high and marinas are flooded
It's just hard to fathom what you all are going through right now, and what's happening with ponds, lakes and dams!

http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/Boat-dock-breaks-loose-at-Texoma-Marina-and-Resort-305109481.html

Be safe y'all!

PS - It's possible when Fatih and I make to East Texas we'll be able to drop a plug out the window and troll along the roadways? (please don't get me wrong as I don't want to make light of what's happening there!)
We need the OP to go back and take pics from the same locations now...heh


Sean
I've talked to him and his pond is way out of the original sides.
Sean, here ya go:













And the spillway for the 14,400 acre lake:

Any updates on drought in Texas? How about California and Nevada area? Did El nino bring rain yet? We keep hearing forecasts of drenching winter rains and mudslides for the west coast, maybe that is to come yet?
The drought in most of Texas is over. However, there are quite a few areas of West Texas that the floods missed.
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