Answers to Go with Susan Smith
SAN MARCOS PUBLIC LIBRARY 625 E. HOPKINS ST. 512-393-8200
Q. Recently you wrote about the impact of droughts on Texas. Does the library have any more specific information on the drought of the 1950s in San Marcos?
A. In this last month before I retire, I have pulled out a handful of the 800 plus columns I’ve submitted since I began this series in 2004.
Droughts and floods are recurring meteorological events in Central Texas. This question and answer was originally written in the summer of 2006.
A graph found at drought. gov shows drought conditions in Texas from 2000 to the present. There was a significant drought in 2006. However, the most memorable drought since 2000 began in the spring of 2011 and ran into summer 2012. At one point, nearly 90% of Texas was experiencing extreme drought. Time after time, I saw scattered thunderclouds form in the distance. I saw those dark clouds drop rain miles away, but no rain fell here.
Of course, if you have been here long enough, you know that a drought in the 1950s went on for seven years. David Lyle Fisher’s master’s thesis, “Drought and Depletion: Hays County, Texas in the 1950s,” can be found in our San Marcos/Hays County History Collection.
Fisher began: “Toward the end of the 1940s, Texas began to suffer the effects of severe dry weather. As conditions spread and intensified, a marked increase in blowing sandstorms in far West Texas and eastern New Mexico raised the prospect of a new dust bowl.
“While some parts of the state were spared, the area along the Balcones Escarpment suffered from drought. Springs and related streams experienced a decline in volume. Well levels fell slightly, but no emergency measures were taken. Larger springs such as Comal or San Marcos didn’t drop substantially.”
Fisher reported that abundant rainfall in 1949 minimized drought concerns and water tables approached normal levels. While the rest of the state suffered, our immediate area had adequate rainfall until 1954. However, lack of rain in the dryer western regions of the aquifer recharge zone led to lower water tables and reduced flow for the San Marcos River.
Fisher wrote, “In 1954, Hays County suffered its worst dry spell since 1900, with less than four inches of rain for the first six months of the year. Other Hill Country communities experienced even drier conditions. Barren rangelands could not support livestock. President Eisenhower declared Hays and neighboring counties federal disaster areas with provisions for drought relief benefits.
“Concern rose as months of deficient rainfall and intense heat caused a sharp decline in both surface and ground water. The health risk posed by bacteria levels, which became more concentrated as reservoirs and streams diminished, was a concern.
“By the end of 1954, the rainfall average for Hays County was less than thirteen inches. In particular, rural residents and those in small communities suffered, since the majority of them relied upon shallow wells or surface resources affected by low rainfall.
“Low precipitation did not present the only threat to water supplies. Unusually high temperatures meant greater than usual municipal consumption.
“Agricultural demands jumped as well. Dry stock ponds and streams forced ranchers to shift to ground water for their livestock while farmers turned increasingly to crop irrigation.
“By early 1954, record low readings were reported from observation wells from Uvalde to San Antonio. The Guadalupe River, heavily dependent upon spring flow, reached its lowest level in forty years during the fall of 1955.
“In 1956, the effects of six years of drought produced a water crisis unparalleled in regional history. Never had a drought of such intensity been so widespread. A large segment of the state experienced almost total crop failure. Throughout much of the state grass cover was nonexistent. In Hays County, the number of cattle dropped seventy-five percent. “Many streams dried.
Recharge into the Edwards Basic dropped to just ten percent of its average, the lowest measure ever recorded. The volume of San Marcos springs declined by half.
“For many weather stations, 1956 was hottest and driest year ever recorded. Hydrologists warned of the Edwards Basin demise if withdrawal was not curtailed. The sense of urgency was heightened by the failure of Comal Springs. The uncertain future of ground reserves threatened regional economic livelihood.
“Many towns were forced to implement mandatory rationing. A far more desperate situation faced the communities of Mountain City and Uhland. Both suffered from dry wells. Uhland resorted to hauling water to avoid abandonment. Residents throughout the rural Hill Country depended upon water transported from San Marcos and other towns.
“Ed M. Cape, general manager of the GBRA, predicted that within ten years extensive pumping from the Edwards Aquifer would permanently kill Comal and San Marcos springs. He projected a bleak future if reserves could no longer support such institutions as San Marcos Academy, the teacher’s college (Texas State University), and Gary Air Force Base.”
I can’t write about this subject without recommending Elmer Kelton’s classic—“The Time It Never Rained.” If you’d like to read it, please give us a call at 512-393-8200 and we’ll set it aside for you. Then you can stop by during our Front Porch Pick Up hours to pick it up.
