Texas Water Development Board updates online drought resources

For immediate release. Contact: Media Relations at 512-463-5129

AUSTIN – (January 14, 2015) – The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today announced updates to the drought resources section of the Water Data for Texas website. The website is intended to serve as a resource regarding the status, impact, and future outlook of drought in the state. Additionally, Water Data for Texas provides information about drought response and preparedness in Texas and tools to better understand drought.

Updates made recently to the website include new drought resources, detailed explanations about each resource, and how the information is used to monitor drought. “We wanted Texans and all those interested in our state’s drought resources to not only see the information we use when evaluating drought in Texas, but also understand why and how we use it,” explained Robert Mace, Deputy Executive Administrator for Water Science and Conservation at the TWDB.

Improvements to Water Data for Texas include links to Drought in Your Backyard, which allows individuals to identify the intensity and effects of drought in their own zip codes; the Drought Impact Reporter, which monitors the impacts of drought across the country through a comprehensive database of drought-related media reports; and the One-Month Drought Outlook, which forecasts monthly temperature and rainfall projections.

In addition to the enhanced Water Data for Texas website, the TWDB also reports timely drought information in the Texas Drought Report, a weekly overview of drought conditions in Texas that also includes the seasonal drought outlook for the country. In mid-January, the TWDB will release its 100th Texas Drought Report.

The TWDB also releases a monthly report on Texas water conditions and maintains information on reservoir storage and groundwater well levels across the state.

The TWDB encourages all Texans and those interested in drought to learn more about drought by visiting the Water Data for Texas website at www.waterdatafortexas.org.

The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional planning, and preparing the state water plan for the development of the state’s water resources. The TWDB administers cost-effective financial assistance programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood control, and agricultural water conservation projects.