Water, water everywhere ...

Even with recent downpours, the reservoirs that supply the city of Odessa didn't budge an inch.

"There's been almost no change in our reservoirs from recent rains," John Grant, manager of the Colorado Municipal Water District, said. "First, you need to get some rain in the soil so it can get wet. Then, the ground needs to swell before there can be any runoff."

It takes quite a bit of saturation for that can happen, he said.

Grant said the lake levels for CRMWD reservoirs may look scary - some are 8 and 12 percent full. However, member and customer cities' supply of water should be judged by the pipeline network and how effectively the water district can move groundwater to cities, he said.

Residents used to be able to see how that works - but, Grant said, that information's now private because of Sept. 11 terror guidelines.

The water district has been in business for 59 years and hasn't yet had to ration its member cities, Grant said.

At the JBS Leadership Institute lecture series last week, Mayor Larry Melton said if the area didn't have any rain at all, then it would still have enough water to last the city three years - for now.

In other words, rain's needed.

"What I'd like to see is a low settle-in rain near a watershed for a couple of days," Grant said, noting that the odds of that slim with West Texas' climate.

In fact, he said, the Permian Basin been in a pretty severe drought since the '90s, and it's been especially dry for the last 12 or 13 months.

But don't worry about rationing. Grant doesn't even like to use the word conservation - he calls it the "C" word.

That noted, if he were to give advice, he said, he'd ask people to be aware of the fact that they do live in a desert.

"It's important to educate the public where we live out here," Grant said. "If we're going to live here, then need to be wise."

Odessa's averages about 14.8 inches of rain a year, making it a semi-arid climate. The city uses roughly 15 million gallons of water a day on average throughout the year. However, that average doubles in the summer to around 30 million gallons a day, he said.

"Most of the water's used outside in the summer," he said, again making a quick plug for wise use of the valuable H2O: "If you water your cement, it doesn't grow."

He also said locals should look into landscaping "that makes sense," like xeriscaping.

Debra Bean, the adviser for native plants at Natural Ponds and Gardens, said she's seen a large increase in demand for landscaping with native plants, particularly in the new developments around Faudree Road.

"It's not just gravel and cactus, which is what most people think," Bean said. She said she uses an array of attractive plants that can survive locally, but don't require a lot of water.

Bean said her landscaping business exclusively offers customers a drip-tubing product, which delivers the water just where it's wanted - and conserves a lot of water.

Meanwhile, Melton said Odessa water sources include three surface water lakes, which evaporate at almost the same rate as the city uses. However, he said there's no need for too much concern right now because "we have five water fields that supply an additional 28 million gallons of water a day."

But, like others, the mayor said the city still needs to be frugal with its water and figure out ways to supplement through desalination and reuse programs.

"Water is our most precious commodity, so we need to preserve it as best as we can," Melton said.  

INTERESTED?

>> Check out the lake levels for reservoirs in the Colorado River Municipal Water District daily on our weather page inside the print edition of the Odessa American.

WHAT IS IT?

>> Xeriscaping is a form of landscaping that conserves water and protects the environment.

>> It includes the use of plants adapted to a particular region, as well as specific maintenance practices designed to grow those plants in a healthy manner.

Source: TCEQ's website, www.tceq.state.tx.us