News

Drought Taxes Building Infrastructure

August 22, 2011 5:00 am by: Ian Crawford

Trees in Central Texas have become badly stressed by the drought. The buildings around some of those trees are also feeling the effects of the dry heat. Photo by Emily Donahue for KUT News.Trees in Central Texas have become badly stressed by the drought. The buildings around some of those trees are also feeling the effects of the dry heat. Photo by Emily Donahue for KUT News.

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The prolonged dry spell in Central Texas is having a ripple effect for home and commercial building owners. Parched clay soil on which much of urban Austin is built is literally shrinking and turning to dust, causing foundations to shift and crack and water pipes to break. Temperatures soaring past 100 degrees on a daily basis are causing air conditioners to give out and landscaping to wither and die. According to an article by Cody Lyon in the Austin Business Journal, the forecast trend doesn’t hold any real hope for these conditions to get better anytime soon.

KUT’s Ian Crawford discusses the immediate impact of the hot, dry weather on Central Texas with Lyona. You can hear the interview by clicking on the audio player above.

 

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