Drought takes toll on Houston's trees

HOUSTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Officials in Houston say the Texas drought is presenting them with hard choices about the city's trees, and they realize all cannot be saved.

The city is concentrating on what officials call "signature trees," such as the live oaks lining South Main Street on the edge of Hermann Park, the trees along the Lieberman Trail in Memorial Park, and others in highly visible settings.

They will get the most care and attention but trees in other areas are on their own, the Houston Chronicle reported Monday.

Watering trucks have been dumping thousands of gallons of water daily on root systems and deploying watering bags for slow-drip irrigation of vulnerable trees.

At the beginning of the drought the city of Houston's Parks and Recreation Department had four watering trucks to cover 380 parks.

City Parks Director Joe Turner said he has brought on 18 more trucks this year but has been unable to hire out any more because he can't find them.

"If you can find a 1,500-gallon truck, we're happy to rent it," he said.

In one estimate, the eight-county area surrounding Houston faces the loss of 10 percent of its 660 million trees, the Chronicle reported.