For the third year in a row, Wharton County farmers will go without Colorado River water. The Lower Colorado River Authority confirmed no interruptible water will be available this year for farmers in Wharton, Colorado, and Matagorda counties. Despite recent floods near Austin, upstream rainfall hasn’t restored reservoir levels enough to lift the ban. The restriction began in ’22 and continues to impact major rice growers like Pierce Ranch, which hasn’t planted its primary crop since the cutoff began.