Res 2024-045 approving the 2024 City of San Marcos Hazards Mitigation Action Plan (“HMAP”)

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SECTION 6: DROUGHT there was enough rain in a few spots to produce some drought improvement. Hays County moved from Exceptional (D4) drought to Extreme (D3) drought. The 7 -day average streamflow at the end of the month was much below normal (under 10%) on the Medina River, below normal (10%- 24%) to normal (25%-75%) on the San Antonio River and much below normal on the Guadalupe River. The Edwards Aquifer dropped 1.0 foot during the month and was 31.9 feet below average. Area reservoirs were below normal conservation pool elevation. Most public water systems encouraged at least voluntary water restrictions, and many had mandatory restrictions in effect. May 2011 —April 2012 _ .. �r� d San Abrc� x:.... ��:�Y:} .—.� Existing drought conditions over South Central '�U�'¢°^�°"°m"^a°°m Texas continued and worsened in some ' counties. Most of the area, including Hays County, was in exceptional drought conditions (Stage D4) due to lack of rain. Fire danger in South Central Texas remained moderate to high, and burn bans were in effect for all counties. The Texas A&M agricultural program reports indicated the agricultural situation was ` u rapidly deteriorating with forage availability remaining below average. Many stock tanks remained extremely low, with some in danger of drying up. At the end of the month the seven-day stream flow average remained in the below or much below normal range for basins across South Central Texas. The City of San Marcos moved to drought response Stage 2. The weak to moderate La Nina event continued during December according to the Climate Prediction Center. The drought continued over South Central Texas, but there was some improvement. There were several significant rainfall events during the month. While some counties improved, numerous counties, including Hays, remained in Stage 3 (extreme drought category). Due to recent rain and cooler temperatures, fire danger was low by the end of December and only 14 counties still had burn bans in effect. The Texas A&M Crop and Weather report stated soil - moisture levels improved slightly but remained very low in the deep soil profile. At the end of the month the seven-day stream flow average remained in the below or much below normal range for basins across South Central Texas and the Rio Grande Plains. The City of San Marcos improved to drought response Stage 1. PROBABILITY OF FUTURE EVENTS Based on available records of historic events, there have been 10 extended time periods of drought within a 27.5 -year reporting period in Hays County, including the City of San Marcos planning area. The probability of future events is considered "Likely", or an event probable in the next three years. See additional information on climate change at the end of this section as it relates to the frequency of future events. City of San Marcos I Hazard Mitigation Action Plan Update 2024 1 Page 9