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If you have driven along Lake Conroe or Lake Houston lately, you may have noticed a severe decline in the water levels. Boats are landlocked and sandbars spout where water once flowed. Both lakes have suffered from persistant drought and scorching temperatures over the summer months. The City of Houston has alerted the San Jacinto River that it may have to take an emergency step that it has not had to take in years-order Lake Conroe to release 150 million gallons of water from its dam. The water would flow downstream into Lake Houston's reservoir to assure that the city's purification plant can continue to operate. The only problem is that Lake Conroe, if drained of this amount for 2 months, will be the lowest level of all time. Lake Houston is 7' below normal elevation, which means boats are often hitting stumps or getting stranded on sandbars. Each lake is a source of drinking water for the city of Houston. Residents along Lake Conroe are also very unhappy about the conditions. "I don't have a lake now," complained Mike Bleier, president of the Lake Conroe Association. "I used to have lake-front property. But now I have a forest." It is dangerous to boat or ski so many of the residents are forced to give up recreational fun for the summer.
To secure the city's water supply, Houston taxpayers years ago paid for the construction of both lakes on the San Jacinto River. Lake Houston, covering 12,000 acres in northeast Harris County, began operations in 1953, followed by the 21,000-acre Lake Conroe in Montgomery County in 1973.
Lake Conroe is used to hold water in reserve until it's needed by Lake Houston's water plant.
"The water level on Lake Houston cannot fall below 37 feet or the water plant's intake pumps won't work," explained Alvin Wright, Houston's public works spokesman.
The water level on Lake Houston currently stands at 37.6 feet, dangerously close to the mark that triggers withdrawals from Lake Conroe. The level is dropping by as much as 3½ inches a week.
"We're experiencing much higher water usage, while water pipes are also breaking from the extreme heat," Wright said. "Usually we have 250 repairs pending, but now we've got 600 repairs."
Plus, the municipal water supply is dwindling because of greater evaporation from triple-digit highs and no rain to replenish the losses.
"Houston's mayor and public works director will make the call to order any release from Lake Conroe. We're still hoping that won't happen," said Wright, who said the city wants to avoid dipping into its reserves until absolutely necessary.
However, he stressed that Lake Livingston, Houston's main drinking water supply, is nearly full, and the city has sufficient reserves to last two years
