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Hi everyone, and

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welcome to the Texas Water Development
Board's latest Water and Weather report.

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I'm Dr.

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Mark Wentzel, a hydrologist in the surface
water division here at the agency.

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And today, we'll be taking a look
at conditions for our state

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at the end of July 2023, as well as a look
back at conditions a year ago.

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Let's take a look at some of the big water
and weather headlines.

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July was hotter and drier than normal
for most of the state. At the end of July,

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49 percent
of the state was in drought,

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up 25 percentage points
since the end of June.

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Statewide, storage in our water supply
reservoirs was about 73 percent

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of capacity, more than 10 percentage
points below normal for the time of year.

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Even so, most parts of the state are
better off than at the end of July 2022.

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Let's take a closer look at conditions
this year compared to last year.

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This is the drought monitor map
for the end of July 2023.

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On this map,
49 percent of the state is in drought,

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the tan, orange, and red colors.

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And another

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30 percent of the state, shown in yellow,
is approaching drought conditions.

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Exceptional drought,

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the most extreme category, covers
about 1 percent of the state.

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How does that compare to last year?

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Here's the drought monitor map
from the end of July 2022.

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At that time, 97
percent of the state was in drought.

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Exceptional drought,
the most severe category, covered

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almost 20 percent of the state.

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Why were drought conditions in 2022
so much worse than conditions this year?

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In a nutshell, for most of the state,
May through

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July was drier in 2022 and hotter in 2023.

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Both temperature and precipitation
contribute to drought,

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but the precipitation pattern in 2022
led to worse drought conditions.

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How have our surface water supplies fared
compared to last year?

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Statewide, on average, our surface
water supply systems are holding

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2.5 percentage points
more water this year than last year.

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But conditions vary
considerably across the state.

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To see some of that variation, on this map
we're looking at conditions

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in 20 individual municipal surface
water supply systems.

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The color of each circle shows the volume
of supply as a percentage of capacity

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at the end of July 2023. The numbers
show the change from last year.

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In Amarillo, El Paso, and Lubbock,
reservoirs have more than 15

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percentage points of additional water
this year compared to last year.

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On the other extreme, reservoirs
for Abilene, Austin, San Angelo,

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and Temple-Killeen have declined by 10
or more percentage points.

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Most systems are a bit better
off than last year, but systems in Temple,

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Killeen, and Waco are currently
at 30-year lows for this time of year,

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and systems in Amarillo
and Lubbock are at 20-year highs.

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What can we expect in August?

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More heat and, for most of the state,
not much rainfall.

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What should we do about that?

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Listen to your local water providers,
observe outdoor watering restrictions,

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understand that restrictions can be in
place not just because of limited supply,

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but because of limited capacity
to treat water.

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And wherever you live in this great state,
conserve as much water as you can.

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We'll get through this summer
and look forward to cooler

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and wetter conditions
this fall and winter.

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That concludes our report.

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Until next time,
I hope you all stay healthy and safe.