Will San Angelo Be Hit With Another Water Crisis?

SAN ANGELO, TX – After the Twin Buttes reservoir hit its lowest water level in five years, we reached out to city officials to discuss the current and future water conditions in San Angelo.

Despite the low water levels at Twin Buttes, the situation is not critical, according to officials. 

“The water is low at Twin Buttes but we are not in a critical situation right now, but recognize that our primary water supply is O.H. Ivie Lake,” City of San Angelo Mayor Brenda Gunter said. “However, Twin Buttes is one of our secondary water supply sources and is used in the calculations of our available water supply.” 

“I would sleep better at night if it was full, but we are still several months away from having to enact drought level 1,” she said. 

She also said that Lake Ivie has recently gained about 15,000 to 16,000 acre-feet of water from recent rains, which extends the available water supply by a couple of months. However, accurate projections won't be available until mid to late July when the Colorado River Municipal Water District releases its new estimates.

Shane Kelton, City of San Angelo Public Works Director, explained that the city’s "drought level one" is triggered when there is a 24-month water supply. The last calculation was on April 1, before the latest rains, showing a 32-month supply, which remains unchanged.

Conservation measures will be implemented when the supply drops to 24 months. Updated calculations will be made in July based on new projections and all water assets.

Kelton also mentioned that if water scarcity becomes severe, water supplied from underground via the Hickory Aquifer is an option, although it is expensive to treat and integrate into the water distribution system.

He said that Lake Ivie is "way down" at 29% capacity, up from 26% at the end of April.