For some, the bare fields are bringing back memories of the Dust Bowl. We had towels that we wettened and put on the window sill to keep out the dust. Farming technology today is far advanced, but still at the mercy of the seasons. This is the fourth summer of drought in the last five years. If you look at the local economic impact for those guys, triple it.
Reservoirs run dry Bone-dry reservoirs are part of the local impact.
Lake Travis should be supplying water for much of the city of Austin. But where there should be water in the reservoir, there are only weeds that have grown in the dry lake-bed since spring. Dusty canoes sit landlocked. Docks stretch over what looks like a field of rocks and head-high weeds. Even with winter rains, the situation could get worse, because the city is expanding rapidly.