So, are Lubbock's playa lakes just a receptacle for drainage or part of our ecosystem?

Certainly, the ducks and the fish (in the stocked lakes) think that the playa lakes are part of the topography here. The city, apparently, thinks of the lakes as retention areas for stormwater runoff.

One look at our lakes now and you can tell that we're having a bit of a drought problem.

First, take a look at Google Maps picture of the lake at Henry Huneke Park. I don't know when this was taken, but you can see how the lake usually looks.

Google Maps
Google Maps
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Then, below it, look at the picture I took on Tuesday (May 15).

Lubbock playa lake during drought
Wes Nessman
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They're different angles, but you can see that things are not good. That's a lot of water that is gone and is not being replenished.

The long and short of it is, we need a couple of big rain events in Lubbock, and we need them soon. The ducks, the fish and our farmers can't keep going with conditions like this.

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