Texas is finally seeing meaningful drought relief, but not in the form experts prefer. According to the Texas Water Development Board’s Water Weekly, the week ending July 8 saw drought coverage drop from 30% to 23%, the sharpest decline since early April. That’s a major improvement from three months ago when 58% of the state was in drought. Statewide, water supply is bouncing back too: for the first time since October 2021, Texas reservoirs have surpassed 80% capacity.

Lakes Buchanan and Travis in the Colorado River Basin are leading the recovery, each gaining over 30 percentage points in storage. But TWDB emphasizes that intense downpours aren’t ideal for drought recovery. These storms can quickly fill reservoirs but often fail to restore groundwater or saturate soils, leaving critical parts of the water system strained.

While the reservoir numbers are promising, long-term recovery will require more steady, soaking rain to rebalance the state’s supply and demand for water. Still, the momentum is welcome news for Texans keeping a close eye on reservoir levels and drought maps.

Drought Recovery Tools – At a Glance

The National Center for Environmental Information, explains a variety of components needed to successfully recover from a drought:

1. Precipitation Deficit
   
   • Measures how much rain or snow is missing vs. normal.
   • Simple, but doesn’t account for groundwater, soil moisture, or snowpack.
2. Multi-Station Indices
   
   • Track total precipitation in key regions (e.g., Sierra Nevada).
   • Focus only on rainfall totals; ignore snowpack and water storage.
3. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI)
   
   • Converts rainfall data into a drought severity score.
   • Can be used in forecasts but lacks evapotranspiration or storage data.
4. Palmer Drought Indices (PDSI/PHDI)
   
   • Use precipitation, temperature, and soil moisture to assess drought.
   • Estimate how much precipitation is needed to reduce drought but don’t address deeper storage recovery.
5. Hydrologic Forecast Models / SWSI
   
   • Forecast streamflow, reservoir, and snowpack levels.
   • Provide broader water supply predictions but not exact precipitation needs.

Understanding and using drought recovery tools, such as precipitation deficit metrics, multi-station indices, and models like the Palmer Index or SWSI, is key for assessing progress and guiding future decisions.

Sign up for more information about flood control in the Harris County area, and don’t forget to visit the Harris County Flood Control District website for additional resources such as the Harris County Flood Warning System.