DROUGHT
Drought Happens. Buckle Up.
In Texas, three things are certain: death, taxes and drought. The best way to prepare for all of them is to plan ahead. For the first two, you’re on your own. But for drought, we’re all in this together. We know drought is coming, we know it’s inevitable, and we know conserving water is our best new source of water. We can’t stop drought but, between us, we can be ready.
The Texas Living Waters Project is committed to protecting our shared water resources by helping Texas plan for inevitable drought.
We do this by:

Advocating for the inclusion of drought response in our state’s water planning processes.

Empowering everyday Texans to use water efficiently, so that communities will have greater water reserves on hand before drought begins.

Recommending solutions to major drought management policy issues.
Drought in Texas
Droughts are, and will continue to be, a fact of life in Texas. A drought occurs when there is lack of adequate precipitation over an extended period of time.
During a drought, not as much rainfall fills our rivers and reservoirs or recharges our aquifers. This lack of rainfall, combined with extreme heat, has devastating impacts on our state, causing drinking water shortages, severe wildfires, loss of human life and property, and other environmental and economic damages.

Bastrop Fire, 2011 Drought Photo courtesy of Chase Foundation
Instead of relying narrowly on drought response as a short-term fix for water supply shortages, one of the best ways to prepare for drought is to have an excellent year-round water conservation program. Smart water conservation and reducing nonessential water use, such as watering the lawn in the middle of the day or washing cars during summer months, lessens drought’s environmental burdens and saves money by reducing the size of costly water infrastructure.
Did you know?
The best way to prepare for drought is to conserve water year-round. You can start by conserving water at home.
Thinking big? Contact your water supplier and advocate for improving drought planning in your area.
LEARN MORE
Are we in a drought right now?
Dive deeper
- Saving money and rivers during drought by reducing nonessential water use
- The Texas drought response planning process
- Recommendations for Texas drought contingency planning
Websites about drought
- National Drought Mitigation Center
- Texas Drought Preparedness Council
- Texas Water Development Board Drought Page
Texas Living Waters publications
- Facts About Texas Water (English & Spanish)
- Designing Water Rate Structures for Conservation and Revenue Stability
- Grassroots Organizing on Texas Water Issues
Other publications about drought
- An Assessment of Increasing Water Use Efficiency on Demand Hardening (Alliance for Water Efficiency, 2015)
- Urban Landscape Water Use in Texas (Texas Water Resources Institute)
- Learning from Drought: Next Generation Water Planning for Texas (Texas Center for Policy Studies, 2014)