Posted: Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:24 PM - 10,617 Readers

By: Steve Alberts

Summer 2011 is one for the record books.

“That's just kind of crazy,” said Debora Jones.

Peter camps added, “Unheard of, and unbelievable.”

Wednesday marked 70 days of triple digit heat in Austin.

“You know something like that I have never seen,” explained R.A. Medina. “I’m from South Texas and live in Austin and have never experienced anything like this.”

“It's starting to take its toll on a lot of people,” said Camps.
 
The heat and drought are also taking a toll on where many cities get their drinking water. Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis are a combined 45 percent full and the Lower Colorado River Authority says barring a major rainstorm, the lakes will continue to drop a foot a week.

“It's kind of scary if you really think about how long it is going on,” said Medina.“You see the lake drying up, see things drying up, and say, 'Where are we going to get our water from?' So people need to really save.”

Water restrictions will soon go into effect in Austin. The city is moving to Stage 2 restrictions on Sept. 6. That means Austin Water customers will only be allowed to water their lawns once a week on a designated day, overnight, or early in the morning.
 
The city crews will be actively enforcing the new rules.

“We are actually starting ramping up right now so our patrols are more visible, and we can get word out to those customers who may not be following our current water schedule about how that is going to change,” said Austin Water Conservation Division Manager Drema Gross.

Austin is not alone. On Monday the City of Pflugerville will enter into Stage 2 mandatory water restrictions.
 
“It is the responsible thing to do to conserve the water to make sure we have it for the future 'til we get out of this record drought we are in,” said Pflugerville Director of Public Works James Wills.

Last week Round Rock moved to Stage 2 water restrictions. Since then, it has seen an approximate six to eight percent decrease in water usage.

While the drought of 2011 lingers on, prayers and dances could not hurt.

“I'll do a little silent prayer and a little rain dance hoping something is on its way,” said Camps.

We all need to do what we can to conserve water until the rains return.

The last time Austin went into Stage 2 water restrictions was two years ago.

*  Story Contributed by: Steve Alberts