SAN ANTONIO -- For the last 22 months, most of South Texas has received less than half its average rainfall totals. That mirrors the drought of record that occurred in the mid 1950s.

The lack of rain, combined with increased demand for water, is putting stress on wells in Kendall County.

"Two of our 34 monitor wells are at their record lows," said Micah Voulgaris, General Manager of the Cow Creek Water Conservation District. "So it's a serious situation out there."

The Cow Creek District is under stage five water restrictions. Under stage five, landscape watering must be done by hand. The use of sprinklers -- including automated systems -- is prohibited. Despite such restrictions, the water level in the aquifer system below Kendall County continues to fall. People who rely on privately owned wells for their water supply are finding those wells are now struggling to produce water.

"The water level just keeps going down out there," said John Schwope, who runs a well drilling and repair company. "Even during some of the rains, there hasn't been any recoup."

Schwope's business has been very busy recently. his crews are working non-stop to make adjustments to wells in order to keep them producing. Voulgaris said that most people are heeding the water restrictions, but a small number of violators can make a huge difference. He cited one client in Fair Oaks Ranch who recently used approximately 100,000 gallons of water in one month.

"It's getting to the point where people are just going to have to let their grass go and worry about it later," said Schwope.

There is hope that the drought is about to come to an end, and in the not-to-distant future. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently announce that an El Nino has developed of the west coast of South America. Such conditions usually produce wetter than average autumns and winters in South Texas.