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Every drop counts

Make small changes in how you use water and make conserving water a way of life. Every drop counts toward protecting and preserving our water supply.

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Water landscapes once a week at most

Going from watering landscapes twice a week to once a week reduces water use by 7-12%.

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Cut your 10-minute shower in half and save 12.5 gallons of water

If a million of us do that every day this week, we'll save 87.5 million gallons of water. That's 1.4 billion glasses of drinking water.

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Turn off the water while you brush

Save up to 2 gallons a minute - that's over 220 gallons a week for a family of four!

Our region's water comes from two storage reservoirs, Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan, on the Colorado River. Together, the lakes can hold about 2 millon acre-feet, or nearly 650 billion gallons, of water. The lakes are about full.

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Why water conservation is important

The Texas Hill Country sees droughts and floods regularly. It’s the nature of this arid region, and that’s why the lakes were created.

Lakes Travis and Buchanan were designed to fluctuate. They capture water in wet times and hold it for use by more than a million Texans, industries, agriculture and the environment when conditions turn dry. When water levels go down during droughts, this is the lakes at work. It’s everyone’s job to use the water wisely.

What you can do

Use water wisely

Make waves

  1. Stay informed.
    Sign up to receive information about the Colorado River, lakes and weather conditions each weekday.
  2. Connect and interact with us on social media.
    Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and X for the latest information on the drought, water-saving tips, rebate information and drought-tolerant plant suggestions, and repost for your friends and family.
  3. Spread the word.
    Whether you’re writing an article, researching a school paper, or talking water with your neighbors, share our WaterSmart tips, tools & resources, info on how we’re managing the Highland Lakes through drought, or how to take advantage of money-saving residential rebates.

What we’re doing

1

Drought response: Stage 1

LCRA’s firm water customers – mostly municipalities, water districts and industries – should implement mandatory drought response measures with a demand reduction goal of 10%. Each firm customer has its own drought contingency plan to determine how to cut back water use. See LCRA’s Drought Contingency Plan.

Limiting outdoor watering to twice a week.

LCRA requires cities, businesses, industries and others that purchase water from LCRA to limit outdoor watering of ornamental landscaped areas to no more than twice a week under current conditions. View our water customers’ watering schedules.

Cutting off water to most downstream interruptible agricultural customers for a second straight full year.

No water from the Highland Lakes will be available for most LCRA agricultural customers in Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda counties in 2024. Read the news release.

Expanding our WaterSmart rebates program

LCRA now offers rebates for converting turf to native garden beds or drought-tolerant landscapes, hose-end timers, flow sensors, and more. Learn more about our residential and commercial, institution and industrial rebates.

Other drought resources

U.S. Drought Monitor
The latest drought conditions in Texas
Drought.gov
Drought conditions in Texas from NOAA and NIDIS
Texas water data
Drought dashboard from Texas Water Development Board
Drought in Texas
Information from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Texas A&M Forest Service
Information on burn bans, forecasted fire danger and drought