BELL COUNTY, TX — It might not look like it Friday but the lack of rain and extreme heat have dropped water levels at Bell County lakes.
Severe drought conditions this summer have drastically dropped the water level in lakes and according to 25 News Chief Meteorologist Matt Hines, that could change soon.
”Hopefully we’ll start to see this break down a little bit, this pattern, over the next few weeks couple of weeks or so, for at least chances for a little bit of moisture in our area but, it looks like the drought is going to be here for a while until we can really get a consistent pattern of rain,” said Hines.
Until then, firefighters are expecting more brush fires and that means drawing water from lakes if that is the only place to get it.
”A lot of times, if we have a fire in one of those areas, we will draft,” said Santos Soto with Temple Fire and Rescue. “We’ll throw a portable pump out into the water. That will pump water directly from that resource, either up to one of the apparatus or up to a portable tank.”
With the levels so low, they may not be able to access the water to keep a fire from spreading into a nearby neighborhood.
”It’s a little bit more difficult to reach out that far,” said Soto. “You really have to utilize more equipment and more tools to get that water out than you would if the water is at a higher level.”
With how low lakes are right now they’re going to stay below normal for a while.
”Right now, if you look at where we’re standing, we probably need a good 10 to 15-inches of rain just to get back to a normal standard here across the area,” said Matt Hines. “So, that’s going to take a while.”
That’s why firefighters are urging Central Texans to be extra cautious of burning anything outdoors.
”Heed those warnings that are up, those signs that are posted, the burn bans,” said Soto. “All that stuff kind of plays together to protect everybody. Not just that one person that might not care, it’s for the whole population out there.”
Though we might be getting some rain right now, it’s not enough to make a big dent in the low water levels in area lakes.
