Experts say only storms could help current drought

CAMERON COUNTY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The ongoing drought in the Rio Grande Valley has experts saying only a tropical storm could fill the reservoirs.

The odds for such a storm are in the air, as we continue to hit record water lows.

Craig Harmon with Cameron County Irrigation says residents can only hope for a storm.

“There has been a lot of discussion, obviously about," he said. "We need a storm. We need a hurricane. We need some sort of major tropical event to kind of bail us out of our water situation, which we’re struggling with here in the Rio Grande Valley.”

Harmon explained that we get water from the Falcon and Amistad reservoirs, which have dropped to a historic 18% low in combined U.S. Storage. Mexico is experiencing a 9% low and he says there is historical precedent for storms filling reservoirs.

“For example, Hurricane Alex. You know there was a lot of flooding that happened, that was associated with that, obviously, there was a loss of property and all those things that come along with it," he said. "But as you can see here on these charts, the massive amounts of water that it dumped that ended up in Amistad and also ended up in Laredo.“

CBS4 Chief Meteorologist Bryan Hale agrees and argues that the sheer amount of water is just as much as the storm track and runoff.

“Hurricane Alex was a godsend. It was the right storm at the right time at the right place. Could we see another Alex this year probably not but it sure would be nice," said Hale.

Hale says another event like Hurricane Alex would make Mexico fulfill the water treaty.

"Alex dumped so much water in the watershed that Mexico couldn’t hold it back. They had to release it which then profited us. We got our water payment real fast because they couldn’t withhold it.”

Harmon says, however, that these refills only last 2 years and without a steadier intake of water or trade from Mexico, the Valley will find itself in the same predicament.

"If we have full reservoirs, it’s only going to help the Valley for about two years cause we're using over 2,000,000 acre-feet of water in the Rio Grande Valley per year," said Harmon.