Texas Water Atlas

Contents

Contents Preface, by Andrew Sansom ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Chapter 1: Climate 1 Climates 3 Climate Divisions 4 Average Annual Precipitation 5 Average Monthly Precipitation, January–April 6 Average Monthly Precipitation, May–August 7 Average Monthly Precipitation, September–December 8 Climate Variability—Annual Precipitation 9 Climate Variability—Annual Precipitation (graph) 10 Annual Precipitation for Major Texas Cities, 1940–2003 11 Annual Precipitation, 1940–2003—El Paso and Lubbock 12 Annual Precipitation, 1940–2003—San Antonio and Austin 13 Annual Precipitation, 1940–2003—Dallas and Houston 14 Annual Potential Evapotranspiration—Priestly Taylor Method 15 Annual Potential Evapotranspiration—Penman Method 16 Gross Lake Surface Evaporation—Average Annual Rate, 1950–79 17 Chapter 2: Surface Water and Groundwater 18 Major Rivers 20 Major Drainage Basins 21 Surface Water 22 Major Texas Reservoirs (table) 23 Springs 24 Groundwater Recharge—Estimated Mean Annual 25 Major Aquifers 26 Edwards Aquifer 27 Ogallala Aquifer 28 Edwards-Trinity Aquifer System 29 Minor Aquifers 30 Playa Lakes 31 Coastal Wetlands near Galveston 32 Coastal Wetlands near Corpus Christi 33 Coastal Wetlands near Brownsville 34 Chapter 3: Water Hazards 35 Shoreline Erosion—Overview of Study Areas 37 Shoreline Erosion—Focus on Study Areas 38 Floodplain Zones 39 Selected Floodplains—Downtown Areas 40 Historic Floods, 1853–2002 41 Floods from Storms, 1853–2002 42 Flash Floods, 1986–99 43 Hurricane Paths—Most Damaging Storms, 1950–2000 44 Hurricane Intensity—Most Severely Affected Counties 45 Major Droughts—National Weather Service Climatic Divisions 46 Public Water Supply Systems—Affected by Drought, 2004 47 Per Capita Water Use in Drought, 2000 48 Groundwater Overdraft Subsidence—Houston-Galveston Area, 1906–2000 49 Chapter 4: Water Quantity and Quality 50 Spanish-Mexican Acequias 52 USGS Real-Time Gaging Stations, 2005 53 Surface Water Supply Index, 2002 54 viii CONTENTS Surface Water Availability, 2002 55 Surface Water Allocation, 2004 56 Surface Water Quality, 2000 57 Water Desalination Plants, 2004 58 Groundwater Vulnerability, 2002 59 Water Wells, 2004—Wells per County 60 Water Wells Drilled, 1820–2003 61 Water Wells Drilled Annually, 1820–2003 (graph) 62 Population and Precipitation, 2000 63 Population and Water Usage, 2003 64 Water Usage, 2003—Irrigation, Manufacturing, Municipal 65 Water Usage, 2003—Mining, Livestock, Steam and Electric Production 66 River Authorities, 2000 67 Water Management Regions, 2003—Senate Bill 1 (1997) 68 Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs) 69 Chapter 5: Water Projects, Pollution, and Protection 70 National Waterway Network in Texas, 2001 72 Hydroelectric Power, 1999 73 Major Texas Hydroelectric Plants, 2005 (table) 74 Oil and Natural Gas Production, 2003 75 Industrial Pollutants—Leaking Underground Tanks, 2001, and Industrial Hazardous Waste, 1997 76 Industrial Pollutants, 2004—Mining Operations and Nuclear or Radioactive 77 Agricultural Pollutants, 2004—Animal Waste and Groundwater Contamination 78 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) 79 Sanitary Landfills—Number of People Served, 1996 80 Landfills—Other Attributes, 1996 81 Facilities Emitting Air Pollutants, 1999 82 Wastewater Discharge, 2002 83 Toxic Substances in Surface Waters, 1999 84 Locations of Fish Kills, 1958–2005 85 Endangered Water-Dependent Species, 2004—Fish, Mammals, and Birds 86 Endangered Water-Dependent Species, 2004—Other Animals and Plants 87 Invasive Plant Species 88 Major Protected Areas 89 Chapter 6: Water Recreation 90 Water Access by Boats, 2005 91 Aquariums, 2006 92 Water Parks, 2006 93 Scuba Parks, 2006 94 Tubing Access, 2006 95 Chapter 7: Water Prospects 96 Projected Change in Water Supplies, 2000–2050—Water Management Regions 97 Change in Groundwater Supplies, 2000–2050 98 Interbasin Water Transfers 99 Proposed Interbasin Water Transfers 100 Projected Water Needs—Water User Groups in River Basins 101 Counties with Projected Unmet User Group Needs, 2050 102 Surface Water Supplies in Drought—Projected for River Basins 103 Per Capita Water Use in Drought—Projected for Selected Cities 104 Water Demand Projections—Irrigation 105 Water Demand Projections—Livestock 106 Water Demand Projections—Manufacturing 107 Water Demand Projections—Mining 108 Water Demand Projections—Municipal 109 Water Demand Projections—Steam and Electric 110 Texas Water Timeline 111 Glossary 125 References 127 Index 131 ...