The Vanishing Texas Panhandle population

34,266 Views | 298 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Spider69
BoerneGator
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Quote:

I always think of that when leftists try to pretend they never said there would be global cooling.
The original phobia was indeed "global cooling"! The coming new Ice Age… I forget the watershed moment that changed their focus, but it would be comical if not so serious at this point.
TX04Aggie
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Yep. I went kicking and screaming to Midland for about a 2 year rotation/assignment in oil and gas. I legitimately cried when I came back to Houston. Made some life long friends out there and not just co workers. I still go out for work some but also go out to hang out with the friends I made there.
MooreTrucker
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BoerneGator said:

Quote:

I always think of that when leftists try to pretend they never said there would be global cooling.
The original phobia was indeed "global cooling"! The coming new Ice Age… I forget the watershed moment that changed their focus, but it would be comical if not so serious at this point.
Global cooling. When that didn't happen, global warming. That didn't happen either, so global climate change.
agent-maroon
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Could call it "global climate stasis" and people would still be freaking and demanding we give up something they don't like
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
MooreTrucker
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agent-maroon said:

Could call it "global climate stasis" and people would still be freaking and demanding we give up something they don't like
And focusing on the US instead of the places where it's REALLY a problem
BoerneGator
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People learned they could have a career as a "concerned environmentalist", sounding the alarm. It's a huge con, but a very effective one. These people occupy a (too) large % of otherwise legitimate occupations, that are huge drags on the economy. But they've become entrenched, never to go away!
Burdizzo
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BoerneGator said:

Yeah, I was referring to the same project you posted earlier. The one to the south of Bexar county injecting "excess" Edwards water into the Carrizo. It appears to be both practical and efficient. Perhaps an expert or two will weigh in.


A couple of anecdotes about that ASR facility in south Bexar...

That facility was initiated back when San Antonio had two major water utilities, SAWS and BexarMet water. SAWS was issuing all sorts of positive press releases about how smart they were and how they had bought that ranch for ASR. BexarMet quietly bought the property across the road with plans to drill wells on it, wells that would have legally drawn out the water SAWS was pumping into the ground. When SAWS figured out what was about to happen they basically had to pay BexarMet to stop drilling wells.


When that facility was built there was no vision to have anything else there so there was only one pipeline built for it. When they would fill the ASR the water flowed out of town into the ASR. When they would withdraw, the water flowed the opposite direction back into town. A few years later SAWS wanted to be the cool kid on the block so they announced plans for a desalination plant and decided to put it there because they already owned the land. They got close to finishing the desal plant, and start discussing operations how the water was going to get back into town. They all assumed they could use the ASR pipeline. Some smart person asked how the water was going to get into town if they were in the process of filling the ASR. I heard there were a lot of uncomfortable silences. The plan evolved into they would only run the desal plant when they were withdrawing from the ASR which is reportedly the worst thing that can be done with with a desal plant. They are made to run continuously not intermittently. There is a lot of capital sitting there idle for most of the time.
CDUB98
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I'm on vacation, so didn't read the responses until now. I apologize for interrupting the current subject.

Affordability and feasibility may be the least of our worries when the water crisis hits.

IIRC, the main Ogallala recharge is in Nebraska. The water flowed southward from there. I could be completely wrong, but that's what is sticking in my head.

Between snow runoff and rain, pressure pumping into the aquifer helps push it through the natural filter, and if that water heads south, it filters more.

As for pumping water from the Gulf Coast to The Panhandle, it is completely possible. I mean, we pump gasoline and oil through thousands of miles of piping. The only differences are the density and discharge head requirements. It only takes horsepower and the will to spend the money.

Obviously, the aquifer is not my area of expertise and I may be only "pie in the sky" dreaming, but we've got to somehow mitigate the losses in the aquifer.

Now, the water pumping is certainly in my wheelhouse and I flat tell you it is possible. In that situation, it is all about the money.
bco2003
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I've heard of Lake Meredith always being low, but was surprised how relatively full it is, compared to the last decade, despite the drought conditions. Not heading in the right direction though.

bco2003
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Looks like its record high was 2914' in 1973. So currently about 30' lower than that record.
CanyonAg77
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Lots of the problem with Meredith has to do with lakes Conchas and Ute in Newer Mexico, and the refusal of NM to release the agreed upon discharge down the Canadian to Meredith
Global Warming
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MooreTrucker said:

BoerneGator said:

Quote:

I always think of that when leftists try to pretend they never said there would be global cooling.
The original phobia was indeed "global cooling"! The coming new Ice Age… I forget the watershed moment that changed their focus, but it would be comical if not so serious at this point.
Global cooling. When that didn't happen, global warming. That didn't happen either, so global climate change.
Don't derail this thread with nonsensical claims.
agent-maroon
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Thought that I read/heard that the agreement was to release water from Ute only when it reached a certain % of capacity, but they retain the snow melt in Conchas so it never reaches that level. Any truth to that or is that just urban legend?
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
clarythedrill
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AgTech88 said:

Pampa Harvester Class of '84 here. Growing up thru the Oil Boom and Bust was a unique experience. My folks lived there all their lives and I still spend time up there. Good people back then and good people there now. Still miss the spectacular lightning storms and the dry air, but don't miss the minimum 25mph wind every day….
Did you know a female who's last name was Ferguson? She graduated from Pampa probably in '82 or so. She showed up at my high school as the typing teacher in '86, and we would call on her for stupid stuff so she would lean over and we could look at her well endowed chest. Maybe you know/knew her.
CanyonAg77
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Been a while since I read up on it, so I'll plead ignorance on the details

But here's an old article from a quick Google

https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/Lake-Meredith-unlikely-to-get-water-soon-from-New-8906487.php
MooreTrucker
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Global Warming said:

MooreTrucker said:

BoerneGator said:

Quote:

I always think of that when leftists try to pretend they never said there would be global cooling.
The original phobia was indeed "global cooling"! The coming new Ice Age… I forget the watershed moment that changed their focus, but it would be comical if not so serious at this point.
Global cooling. When that didn't happen, global warming. That didn't happen either, so global climate change.
Don't derail this thread with nonsensical claims.
LOL...username checks out.
CDUB98
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agent-maroon said:

Thought that I read/heard that the agreement was to release water from Ute only when it reached a certain % of capacity, but they retain the snow melt in Conchas so it never reaches that level. Any truth to that or is that just urban legend?


Not an urban legend.
bco2003
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This sums up the regulations pretty well, as agreed upon between the states and controlled by the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority:

Quote:

Why doesn't Ute Lake in New Mexico release water to Texas?

The States of New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma are all parties to the Canadian River Compact created by agreement of the three states and the federal government in 1950. The Compact is administered by representatives appointed by the Governors of each state and a chairperson appointed by the President. It has authority over each state pertaining to issues related to the Canadian River. According to the Compact, New Mexico can hold 200,000 acre-feet in Ute Lake before it would have to release water to Texas. Currently, that level is about 3 feet below their spillway. Any water stored above that level must be released to the Canadian River and will eventually make its way to Lake Meredith. Any amount below that or any water in Conchas Lake is not required to be released. Texas also can only hold 500,000 acre-feet in Lake Meredith before we would have to release water for Oklahoma. The 500,000 acre-feet level in Lake Meredith would represent a depth of around 102 feet.
https://www.crmwa.com/faq

I am originally from eastern New Mexico, and a big priority there the last 20+ years has been building a pipeline from Ute Lake to Clovis for the region's water supply going forward, given the depletion of the Ogallala aquifer.

The project is making headway, with the intake structure being completed at the lake, and the vast majority of the pipeline's funding being appropriated for from federal, state, and local levels. I believe it will be completed within the next 10 years.

That being said, it is especially unlikely that New Mexico will release water from Ute Lake, since it will be further drawn upon for eastern NM's water supply. But, that is within grounds of the 1950 agreement.
Spider69
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BMC said:

CanyonAg77, Spider69:

You probably knew my father-in-law , Jack Musick, who worked at Bushland Research from '62 to around mid-90's. After he retired, he would still go up there to do volunteer research. He loved his work there.


Yes, Jack Musick WAS the reason that I transferred from USDA-ARS Fresno, CA in Oct. 1983 to work for/with him at Bushland. He was one of the finest men and researchers that I've known.

I can share more by email. Try tah1 "at" att "dot" net.
 
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