It never rains but it pours

Austin, Texas, is suffering a drought.

The local water utility is urging restraint in water use.
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Last month, the most profligate domestic consumer of Austin's water was Lance Armstrong, the cyclist.

Armstrong was not even in town:

He has been in Colorado and California all summer and only noticed the surge in water use when he saw his bills go up.

Armstrong owns a

lush Spanish-colonial home, with an acre of gardens and a swimming pool

(see right) in Austin, and was billed $2,460 for 330,000 gallons in July:

38 times what the average household in the city uses in the summer.

Special thanks to the New York Times for this information, and particularly for the name of

Daryl Slusher, an assistant director of the Austin City Water Authority in charge of conservation.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch:

Torrential rain has been causing widespread flooding across Northern Ireland.

In Belfast, the newly-constructed Broadway Underpass in west Belfast is currently under 15 feet of flood water.

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