Q: Officials in Taylor, Texas, are pumping drinking water into a lake to help the wildlife. Are residents doing without tap water? Also, is this the worst drought that Texas has been in? —William McKee Jr., Flowery Branch
A: Although Texas is in the midst of its driest 10-month stretch in more than 100 years, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Taylor has plenty of water, so much that it's pumping surplus drinking water into two lakes to help struggling wildlife. City manager Jim Dunaway told KVUE-TV in Austin, Texas, that Taylor is under contract with the Brazos River Authority to use 2.3 million gallons of water per day, so the city decided to use the surplus to help Murphy Lake, which is a habitat for ducks, geese, egrets, turtles and fish, and Bull Branch Lake. Dunaway said Taylor, in central Texas, had a water surplus of 73 million gallons as of May 30. Taylor gets its water from Granger Lake, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir that is 78 percent full, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The state climatologist has said Texas' current drought is the state's most severe one-year drought on record, according to The Associated Press.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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