A City Built on Oil Discovers How Precious Its Water Can Be

A pump house at Lake J. B. Thomas, about 30 miles northeast of Big Spring. The lake, a source of Permian Basin drinking water, is currently less than 5 percent full.

By KATE GALBRAITH
NYT

MIDLAND — The oil business is booming, but there is something more precious in Midland right now: water.

Since the beginning of October, barely one-tenth of an inch of rain has fallen on the city, the oil and gas capital of West Texas. Two of the three reservoirs that Midland and other Permian Basin cities rely on for most of their water are getting close to empty. The third is below 30 percent of capacity.

This month, for the first time, Midland imposed water restrictions, forcing homeowners to water their lawns less, and schools to let their football fields grow scrubby.

If the rain does not start soon, “it’s going to get bad,” said Stuart Purvis, the utilities manager for Midland.

(More here.)