Lubbock Water

Introduction

A large number of cities in West Texas are experiencing one of the worst droughts in the last hundred years; Lubbock, one of the bigger cities in this area, is no different. Lubbock’s water supplies have historically varied between groundwater and surface water. Some of the historic water supplies have been discontinued due to diminished water quality, reduction in the water availability, and due to more stringent drinking water regulations (Dunn. 2013).The water sources for the city of Lubbock have changed over time. Within the last 20 years, the profile of Lubbock’s water supply has changed from being satisfied mostly from Lake Meredith, to currently being satisfied by the well fields in Bailey County, Roberts County and Lake Alan Henry (Blackburn.2013). Current estimates show that by the year 2014, additional water supplies and/or aggressive water conservation is needed in order to maintain water supply during the peak demands of the summer months (Blackburn.2013). Even with aggressive conservation, estimates show that Lubbock will not be capable of supplying the projected water demand by the year 2025. In order to meet the projected deficit created by an increasing demand and a decreasing supply of water, multiple supply strategies have to be developed and evaluated (Dunn. 2013).

Literature Review

       Canadian River Municipal Water Authority, a group formed 50 years ago with 10 other Panhandle communities to build and provide drinking water from Lake Meredith, is the major supplier of drinking water to the city of Lubbock. According to Blackburn, existing customers can use up to 3,600 acre feet of water while Lubbock supplement for each year is 42,000 acre feet of water. However, the fact that water resources have become scarce and the adjacent cities such as Wolfforth and Abernathy, do not want to be dependent completely on Lubbock's supply makes the city's water projects encounter difficulties. The article concludes that state and federal grant groups tend to support large groups of governments rather than a project that benefits a single city. Thereby, Lubbock should find additional water resources to keep its key role in water supply for the region (Blackburn, June 08).

      The City of Lubbock must carefully evaluate several water supply alternatives and select the best one since water supply project is a major purchase. Three projects underway are indicated in this article, which are the Roberts County Well Field Expansion, Bailey County Well Field Development and Park Irrigation Conversion to Groundwater. However, the problems of drought impact to Lake Meredith and growing population have forced the City to find a new water supply. After detailed evaluation of several water supply proposals, Lake Alan Henry with the estimation of $240 million is considered as the most sustainable and cost effective water supply (Water Conservation and Education Department,08).

    Combinations of supply strategies in conjunction with the various demand projections were used to develop five different supply packages that can potentially provide the city with water for the 100-year planning period. In all supply packages, the Bailey County Well Field and Lake Alan Henry play an important role in providing the city with its peak demand over the planning period. In order to preserve the Bailey County Well Field, efforts should be made to reduce the annual usage from this source (Dunn. 2013).

Hypothesis

The City of Lubbock would like its people to believe that the water situation is a manageable. This belief is also of paramount importance to the city’s current and future growth. This belief though has to be thoroughly verified and validated, because of the various conflicting data that is available. There also has to be a mechanism to measure the people’s understanding of Lubbock’s current and future water sources and management. We in this article would try to measure people’s knowledge and awareness of the city’s water crisis. Our research would help determine whether the city’s population has been actively keeping up the water crisis. Is there a difference or change in how Texans and Non Texans, men and women view the cities current crisis, in terms of conserving water?  Is enforcement of the current restrictions help safe guard the city’s water supplies? There would be a clear distinction in the knowledge of the residents and non residents, with the residents being more knowledgeable about the city’s water supplies. The student population might also care more about the city’s water supply, because of the location of the college. Texas Tech being one of the best colleges in the West Texas region, the knowledge and concern of the students about the city’s water supplies would be clearly on the same lines as that of the residents of the city.

Bibliography:

Blackburn, E. (2013, June 08). Many eyes on Lubbock's water. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved on September 05, 2013 from http://lubbockonline.com/stories/060808/loc_287908754.shtml

Dunn. David. (2013 Feb). Strategic Water Supply Plan for the City of Lubbock. City Of Lubbock Texas (2013). Retrieved on Aug 2013 from http://www.mylubbock.us/docs/default-source/water-department-file-library/2013-strategic-water-supply-plan.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Lake Alan Henry and Other Water Supply Projects, Water Conservation and Education Department. Retrieved on Sep 5th, 2013 from http://www.mylubbock.us/docs/default-source/storm-water-management/developing-water-supply-alternatives-for-lubbock.pdf?sfvrsn=0