Though there may be water standing outside, as far as the drought is concerned, Brown County Water Improvement District General Manager Dennis Spinks told board members that we are not out of the woods yet.

“It does not seem as if we are still in a drought by looking outside but the level of Lake Brownwood is still at 1415.45 and is 9.5 feet below the Spillway,” Spinks said.

After weekend rains, Spinks said the lake level has risen 1.7 feet and increased 7,740 acre feet in capacity, a 5.89 percent increase in capacity. As of March 13, Spinks told board members that there is currently a 28 month supply of water in the lake.

Officials recently said that they reviewed the current Stage 3 water restrictions and are keeping them in place for now.  Area officials will review the restrictions on a monthly basis and make any needed revisions.

At the regular meeting of the Brown County Water Improvement District on Tuesday, Spinks reminded board members of the May 12 election. All three incumbents have filed for re-election: Stuart Coleman, J.Y. Timmins and Lester “Pierre” Osbourn. Three new candidates have also filed for the at-large election: Thomas “Tommy” Davis, Dennis W. Graham and John W. Hays.

In other business, the board approved modification #3 to the City of Brownwood ’s treated water contract.

Brownwood City Administrator Bobby Rountree told the board that the city is considering drilling some water wells at the new Massey Sports Complex and the old sports complex for irrigation purposes.

“We haven’t spent a whole lot of time or money on this,” Rountree said. “Before we did, we want to make sure it’s okay with you.”

Rountree said he is not sure if it will be economically feasible but with the board’s approval, they will begin looking into the possibility of drilling water wells to irrigate the sports fields.