Texas Water Restrictions

[Angus In Texas]

Heard on the news a couple days ago that a couple of the local water districts have implemented water restrictions including no irrigation of landscaped areas, no use of water to wash cars, equipment or other items outdoors and the biggie..... no watering of livestock. Saw this morning that they dropped the no watering of livestock for now.

Things are getting very very bad around here. We finally had about a tenth of an inch of rain yesterday but all it did was make things very humid.

 

[JSCATTLE]

By water districts do u mean municipality s ? I'm sure ag will stay exempt for the most part .. what good is water with out food...

 

[Angus In Texas]

Water district is more of a rural water system that supplies residences in very small towns/communities. More along the lines of a rural water supply corporation.

They have reinstated the watering of livestock for now. Probably got way too many complaints. This is all due to the level of the lake that supplies these systems.

 

[TexasBred]

Water district is more of a rural water system that supplies residences in very small towns/communities. More along the lines of a rural water supply corporation.

They have reinstated the watering of livestock for now. Probably got way too many complaints. This is all due to the level of the lake that supplies these systems.

I'm sure someone finally realized they were going to be buying a lot of "dead livestock" and decided to reverse that part.

 

[TheBullLady]

I'm in Central Texas myself, and even though we have a "ranch", we are on a "coop" water supply, which gets it's water from a well that's over 3200 ft. in depth. We had a few hand dug wells when we bought our property 18 years ago, but when they put in their new well about two years ago, all the shallow wells went dry.

I had heard briefly something about restricting water use, but I'm assuming they retracted the livestock part. Too many producers don't have anything left to use except coop water at this point.

Yes, a sorry mess in this part of the country for sure.

 

[1wlimo]

I am supprised if they have only just implimented water restrictions re gardens and washing cars. In the Uk a couple of months of low rain fall and they start restricting use. This is enforced.

There was a hose pipe ban for nearly a year in East Anglian (they driest part) at one time. The early restriction of water use means that there is then water for people and animals.

Where the water suppliers got it wrong they had to run tankers. Not very good for their bottom line, or the reaction of their customers.

 

[brierpatch1974]

This is way off topic I know but am curious about something. Obviously technology isnt there or cost effective or this idea would be happening now. But I was wondering if there are any research companies out there that work on filtering salt water from the ocean and turning it into fresh water? If we could master that technology in a cost effective way it sure would help in times of drought and irregation problems. I feel for you people out west going through this and offer a prayer each night for things to get better.

 

[TexasBred]

This is way off topic I know but am curious about something. Obviously technology isnt there or cost effective or this idea would be happening now. But I was wondering if there are any research companies out there that work on filtering salt water from the ocean and turning it into fresh water? If we could master that technology in a cost effective way it sure would help in times of drought and irregation problems. I feel for you people out west going through this and offer a prayer each night for things to get better.

I suppose every ship in the navy already does this but to do it on scale to meet the needs of even a medium size city would probably be a pretty big venture. Maybe something larger scale down the road.

 

[Angus In Texas]

This is way off topic I know but am curious about something. Obviously technology isnt there or cost effective or this idea would be happening now. But I was wondering if there are any research companies out there that work on filtering salt water from the ocean and turning it into fresh water? If we could master that technology in a cost effective way it sure would help in times of drought and irregation problems. I feel for you people out west going through this and offer a prayer each night for things to get better.

I suppose every ship in the navy already does this but to do it on scale to meet the needs of even a medium size city would probably be a pretty big venture. Maybe something larger scale down the road.

I was actually watching something about this on TV the other day. The show said there are roughly 15,000 desalination plants worldwide producing something like 1 or 2% or the worlds fresh water demands. The process is a very energy intense process and typically only serves areas along the coasts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination

 

[Third Row]

The energy requirements for desalinization are insane.

I do wonder about all the water being used for fracing in south Texas right now considering what's going on with the overall water supply.

 

[VCC]

Even when they try to build a desalinization plant out west, the tree huggers put a stop to it. They have been working on putting in a desalinization plant that would provide enough water for one whole city, the tree huggers have had it tied up in court for 2 years.
They are trying to off set the energy cost with solar and converting the methane to electricity from the sewer treatment plant just up the road. The company I work for is supposed to do the electrical for the project, we would like to see it get started up soon.

 

[CottageFarm]

Even when they try to build a desalinization plant out west, the tree huggers put a stop to it. They have been working on putting in a desalinization plant that would provide enough water for one whole city, the tree huggers have had it tied up in court for 2 years.
They are trying to off set the energy cost with solar and converting the methane to electricity from the sewer treatment plant just up the road. The company I work for is supposed to do the electrical for the project, we would like to see it get started up soon.

Not that I generally understand those people anyway, :bang: but...
What on earth is their objection to a desal. plant ???? They won't let anybody use fresh water because of a stupid minnow, now they won't let anybody make salt water useable either ???
:bang: :bang:

 

[Anonymous]

The problem with desalination plants is disposal of the salt. Can't put it back in the water because it raises the salinity levels too high. Its a net loss project but it may come down to do or die if things don't change

 

[CottageFarm]

Have you seen the price of sea salt in the grocery store and specialty markets? :shock:

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, but multiply the worlds food grade sea salt supply by 10 for just one desal plant

 

[TexasBred]

All salt is sea salt. Just different processing between what is labeled sea salt and what might be labeled table salt or even stock salt. Wonder why "sea salt" is more expensive as it requires less processing.

Here's a little info. I found on the Morton Salt mine in Grand Saline, Texas

This first underground rock-salt mine, the only mine ever dug in the community, was completed in 1931. Today's mine is 750 feet below the surface in a salt dome that measures 20,000 feet from top to bottom and 1.5 miles in diameter. Temperature in the mine remains roughly eighty degrees year round. At current rates of production, the Grand Saline mine has sufficient resources to supply the entire United States with salt for thousands of years.