This week's rains weren't enough to break the drought across North Texas, but they did help put off outdoor watering restrictions for at least three months.
While lake levels didn't rise dramatically, the soaking rains reversed a trend of dropping lake levels."It was a step in the right direction," said David Marshall, engineering services director for the Tarrant Regional Water District, which supplies raw water to 98 percent of Tarrant County.And it was a vast improvement from a month ago, when the water district was predicting water outdoor restrictions would return by mid-January."I think it's too early to say we're out of the woods for the year," said Mary Gugliuzza, a spokeswoman for the Fort Worth Water Department. "The real question is will we continue to get more rainfall. Right now, our demands are very low, but they'll start rising again as we get into spring and summer."On Friday, the water district's supply from seven lakes stood at 79 percent. With more runoff, it expected to climb to 80 percent over the weekend, Marshall said.Some of the biggest gainers included Lake Arlington, which rose 1.72 feet, and Lake Grapevine, which climbed 1.13 feet. Lake Grapevine is an Army Corps of Engineers reservoir and not part of Tarrant Regional's water supply. Another water district reservoir, Lake Bridgeport, northwest of Fort Worth, saw one of the smallest gains at 0.17 feet."We have gained about 2 percent in overall storage from the rain, and I expect by the time all the runoff is finished we will gain up to another 2 percent," Marshall said. "The limited runoff is an indication of how dry it was before the rain. Soils are now saturated and stock tanks full everywhere except the Bridgeport Basin."Currently, the water district's West Fork reservoirs, which include Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Bridgeport, stand at only 63 percent while the East Texas reservoirs, Richland-Chambers and Cedar Creek, stand at 84 percent.The Dallas-Fort Worth area will have another shot at rain today as another cold front moves across the region. But forecasters are only expecting about a quarter- to a half-inch of rain."It will be much lighter, but there could be heavier amounts southeast of Dallas," said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Harris.Forecasters expect all of the precipitation to be gone by the time temperatures reach freezing Sunday morning.Even though the rainfall will be much lighter than earlier in the week, it should have some benefit."It should generate a little volume with the current conditions being so wet," Marshall said.Bill Hanna, 817-390-7698Twitter: @fwhannaHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
