An abandoned, malnourished horse is seen at the Safe Haven Equine Rescue in Gilmer, Texas, in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on Dec. 3, 2011.

A tour boat is seen at San Marcos Springs, in San Marcos, Texas.

A San Marcos salamander, an endangered species, is measured for research at the National Fish Hatchery & Technology Center, in San Marcos, Texas.

The sun rises behind an irrigation sprinkler near Lubbock, Texas, on Thursday, Aug. 11. In parched West Texas, it's often easier to drill for oil than to find new sources of water. After years of diminishing water supplies made even worse by the second-most severe drought in state history, some communities are resorting to a plan that might have seemed absurd a generation ago: turning sewage into drinking water.

A cow with a bloodied nose stands looking in the direction of rancher Randy Bolf, who stands nearby in San Angelo, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 6. According to Bolf, the bloodied nose is a result of the cow having to eat prickly pear cactus since there is not much grass left for grazing on the 7,000 acre ranch that Bolf leases for his herd. On Father's Day 2011, a dry storm that past through the area caused a lightning strike on the property starting a fire the consumed nearly 3,000 acres of un-grazed pasture. Bolf now provides a large portion of the feed for his herd that is transported to the region from as far away as Canada according to Bolf.

Firefighters and state officials watch as a grassfire burns, on Wednesday, Aug. 10, near Interstate 35 South of Hewitt, Texas.

The skeletal remains of a fresh water crab on the cracked, dry bed of Lake E.V. Spence in Robert Lee, Texas, on Sunday, Aug. 7. The drought that has turned Texas and parts of the Plains into a parched moonscape of cracked earth that could persist into next year, prolonging the misery of farmers and ranchers who have endured a dry spell that is now expected to be the state's worst since the 1950s.

A wild fire blazes Friday night in Texarkana, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 5.

The remains of several alligator gars are seen along the dried out bed of O.C. Fisher Lake Wednesday, Aug. 3, in San Angelo, Texas. A bacteria called Chromatiaceae has turned the 1-to-2 acres of lake water remaining the color red. A combination of the long periods of 100 plus degree days and the lack of rain in the drought-stricken region has dried up the lake that once spanned over 5400 acres.

Superintendent of waste and water management for the water department Eddie Ray Roberts shows photos of Lake E.V. Spence as the main town strip in Robert Lee, Texas, is seen at rear. In the small rural farming community of about 1,000 in the middle of West Texas, people are worried that Lake could dry up by winter and leave the town without any water.

Eddie Ray Roberts, superintendent of the city's waste and water department is shown walking on the dried bed of Lake E.V. Spence in Robert Lee, Texas. Roberts makes the trek toward the water line near the spillway daily to check on the pump that is feeding Mt. Creek Reservoir nearly 1.3 million gallons of water daily. Every few days, Roberts or members of his small department must relocate the pump because of the receding water line.

Superintendent of the waste and water department for the city, Eddie Ray Roberts, shuts off the running water on a hydrant in Robert Lee, Texas. Roberts said that it makes him sick to open up the hydrants and release so much of the valuable source that his small town is in much need of. But a nearby water main break required him to do so. Relieving the pressure in the system allows Roberts to make the repair.

Texas State Park police officer Thomas Bigham walks across the cracked lake bed of O.C. Fisher Lake Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, in San Angelo, Texas. A combination of the long periods of 100 plus degree days and the lack of rain in the drought -stricken region has dried up the lake that once spanned over 5400 acres.

The remains of a carp is seen on the lake dried out lake bed of O.C. Fisher Lake Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, in San Angelo, Texas.

Texas State Park police officer Thomas Bigham reaches down into what remains of O.C. Fisher Lake Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, in San Angelo, Texas. A bacteria called Chromatiaceae has turned the 1-to-2 acres of lake water remaining the color red.

A view from the top of the dam looking down onto O.C. Fisher Lake shows a small area of red-tinted water by the dams flood gate Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, in San Angelo, Texas.

Children walk the rows of a corn field near Dorchester, Neb., removing tassels along the way, on Tuesday, July 26. Detasseling is a popular summer job for high school and middle school students.

A corn crop dries up in a field near Perryton, Texas, on Thursday. A severe drought has caused most dry-land (non-irrigated) crops in the area to fail and forced farmers to abandon some fields in order to conserve their limited resources. The past nine months have been the driest in Texas since record keeping began in 1895, with 75% of the state classified as exceptional drought, the worst level.

A Texas Forest Service air tanker drops fire retardant near a home in Coke County, Texas, while fighting a wildfire Monday afternoon, April 18.

A firefighter lights a back burn to prevent a wildfire from jumping the highway in Coke County, Texas, on Monday, April 18.

Smoke rises in the air as the wildfire in Coke County, Texas, burns on Monday afternoon, April 18.

Scorched earth and burned trees are all that are left standing after a wildfire blazed through early on Monday, April 18, in Coke County, Texas.

A heard of cattle run from a wildfire near Marfa, Texas, on Saturday, April 9.