COMANCHE COUNTY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The Brazos River Authority (BRA) has shared that Lake Proctor is the first to reach the worst drought category for the Brazos River Authority’s Drought Contingency Plan this cycle.

Lake Proctor dropped below 1,150.1 feet, reaching stage four – Pro Rata Curtailment as of Wednesday, August 16. The severity of the BRA’s Drought Contingency Plan is classified into four levels, numbered from 1 to 4.

“At this time, the Stage 4 Pro-Rata amount at Lake Proctor will be a 30% curtailment of water for the customers that would have occurred in the absence of any drought contingency measures,” BRA Water Services Manager Aaron Abel said.

The lake supplies surface water for the Upper Leon River Municipal Water District and agricultural irrigators. Lake Proctor has experienced a prolonged period of low water levels, with the last full capacity recorded in September 2021. The lake reached a Stage 2 Drought Warning in August 2022, followed by a Stage 3 Drought Emergency in October 2022.

BRA water resources planner Peyton Lisenby added that it may take a while to replenish the water.

“It doesn’t look like we’ll see any respite in drought conditions over the next two weeks,” Lisenby said. “Of course, we’re hopeful that as we transition into what typically are wetter months in the fall, we’ll see replenishing rainfall. But regardless of when the rain comes, the BRA water supply system continues to operate as intended, meeting the needs of our water users.”

Abel emphasized that the continuous process of evaporation and excessive use of water is burdening all reservoirs and encourages water conservation.

“Everything we can do to save water now can help extend the life of the water supply still stored in the reservoirs,” Abel said.

Lake Proctor reached Stage Four only once before, during a drought that affected the entire basin in January 2015.