LESTER HOLT, anchor:
The storm once known as
Tropical Storm Don
fizzled along the
Texas coast
, dropping less than an inch of rain there overnight before moving south into
Mexico
. The storm was seen as the best chance for some heavy rain in
South Texas
in months as the state suffers from a historic drought. It's so dry in
Texas
, cattle and crop losses will start affecting food prices across the country. And as
NBC
's
Charles Hadlock
reports, some
Texas
cities are resorting to desperate measures.
CHARLES HADLOCK reporting:
At this sale barn in
Waco
, the auctioneer can barely keep up with the
cattle drive
of animals being sold at a loss. Ranchers can no longer feed them. Their pastures have turned to dust, and their ponds, which should be filled with
fresh water
, are bone dry.
Michael Steinhauser
runs a farm and ranch business in the worst drought in a generation.
Mr. MICHAEL STEINHAUSER:
This'll be one that people talk about for years to come.
HADLOCK:
And it's one consumers will be paying for in grocery stores in the months ahead. There's plenty of beef on the market; the cattle being sold today are keeping prices down. But what about six months from now?
Mr. DAVID ANDERSON (Texas A&M University Livestock Economist):
Let's say, you know, next year it rained and they wanted to replenish their herd, they want to get some more cows. Where do you find those cows when so many of them have been sold already?
HADLOCK:
The same is true for the
price
of corn, wheat and soybeans, used in so many grocery products, already up 4 percent from last year. Like these sunflowers, they've all wilted in the
Texas
drought. In
West Texas
, where people can't remember the last time it rained, they still somehow have a sense of humor about it. But make no mistake, this is a serious drought. Large lakes that supply
drinking water
to
West Texas
cities are mere puddles. In this lake, less than 1 percent of the
water
is left. Pump stations are high and dry. With lakes and
water
tanks running dangerously low, cities are desperate to find new sources of
water
. And one may have found it in an unlikely, if not
unpleasant, source:
sewage
water
. The city of
Big Spring
is so desperate for
water
, it's building a plant to recycle its sewage.
Mr. JOHN GRANT (Colorado River Municipal Water District):
The quality of
water
that we're going to be producing from the
raw water
production facility is essentially
water
that you could deliver to somebody's tap.
HADLOCK:
Fresh or not, for now it's the only
water
in sight as the dry
Texas
wind brings no rain. Charles Hadlock, NBC News,
Big Spring
,
Texas
.
“ ”