Throckmorton Forced to use Emergency Pipeline for Water - KAUZ-TV: Newschannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TX

The water source for one Texoma town is drying up. Lake Throckmorton is now at 10 percent capacity the lowest it's been since 2000. Because of its low level the city is actually getting its water from Lake Graham. It actually began in October when Throckmorton city officials decided to stop getting water from their own lake and use a water pipeline to bring in water to the city

The way the 21 mile emergency pipeline works is water comes from Lake Graham; it then travels to ground storage in Throckmorton; and then to its water plant; and finally in the bathtubs and drinking water of residents. It's costly.

"When we treat water out of our lake it costs us about $1 per 1,000 gallons when we go to the emergency pipeline it costs us $4.25 per 1,000 gallons," said Mayor Will Carroll.

Water bills have gone up and city leaders have had to cut back on spending costs..

"We just have to look at the budget and we adapt. We have fewer employees," said Mayor Carroll.

Ranch owner Rob Brown said 50 percent of his livestock has already gone out of our county due to shortage of grass and water and he compared this drought to the one that blanketed the state decades ago.

"It would be comparable to the drought in our 50s, it lasted longer than 2 years but it's
been as two of severe years in our history," said Brown.

It's been difficult for residents to watch their lake drop but as everyone around town said, they overcome.

"The citizens of Throckmorton they adapt," said Mayor Carroll. "They overcome the situation."

The city is also in Stage 4 of its drought contingency plan but has been slightly adjusted because that's based on water from their own lake, not Graham's.

Mayor Will Carroll said city officials are more lenient on water usage because they're able to get 160,000 thousand gallons a day from graham and they only use about 100,000. He said they have to sell a certain amount of water to keep the city operating.

Crystal Hall Newschannel 6.