Four months of near-to-above-average rainfall has brought desperately needed drought relief to the Lone Star State, but Texas voters took a stand at the polls Nov. 5 that should eventually provide even more benefit.

Texas voters approved a proposition that will let the state dip into its "rainy day fund" to the tune of some $2 billion, amending the state constitution to fund future water planning projects, primarily through low-cost loans.

With the ongoing drought, many ponds in Texas, such as this one in Rusk County, are drying up. (Photo courtesy of TAMU/Robert Burns) On July 9, the current drought - which began in 2011 and is already on-record as the second-worst in history, eclipsed only by the 1950 to 1957 unprecedented and since unparalleled drought that parched the entire state - had left 92 percent of Texas in at least a moderate drought and more than 75 percent in severe drought or worse.

In the wake of rains starting in mid-July and continuing at normal or higher levels, today half of the state is in a moderate drought or worse, but just one-quarter is in severe drought.

The Lone Star State is in the best water position it has been in since the drought began in 2011 and Texas is the wettest it has been since November 2010.

Combined losses from the 1950 to 1957 drought totaled $22 billion in today's dollars. The current drought has taken a toll approaching $20 billion. The state's famous beef production has been reduced by almost a quarter in three years, a reduction of 1 million head, leaving the U.S. with its smallest herd of cattle in 60 years.

Crops have been similarly affected, especially in the Winter Garden area and to a lesser extent in the Rio Grande Valley. Some growers, unable to secure water rights, are simply forgoing crops. Others have sold their water rights to growers willing to pay a high price for a precious commodity.

In late July, Gov. Rick Perry reissued proclamations designating 221 counties drought disaster areas. Reservoirs and rivers are overtaxed. Legal battles are brewing over water rights with neighboring New Mexico, Oklahoma and even Mexico.

While "2011 was the single hottest and driest year since records started being kept in the state of Texas, the 1950s is still the record because of its duration," said Homer Tuck of the Texas Water Conservation Board. "If conditions keep up like this much longer we may have a new drought record. Things are not good on the water side. [Water restrictions] may be in effect for a long time, unfortunately."

"We've been lucky to have decent rains in parts of the state -- west Texas was wet for the first time in ages -- but the 12-month map [is] still exceptionally dry on top of two years of drought before that," added state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon of Texas A&M University. "Since 1895, there have been 14 droughts of multiple-year duration and it's going to be just a few more months before we've outlasted those except 1950-1957 -- and this could rival that one potentially. We continue to set records for lack of water in reservoirs, unfilled capacity is larger than it ever has been in the middle of the summer. The good news is levels have been relatively stable, but at near-record lows, about 65 percent full."

Agriculture and municipal officials are hopeful funds from the recently passed referendum will help more water start flowing in the very near future.

Said Perry in a press conference after the vote, "Today, the people of Texas made history, ensuring we'll have the water we need to grow and thrive for the next five decades without raising state taxes. Now it's time to get to work on the projects that'll help us meet our growing water needs, preserving and improving both our economic strength and quality of life."

Nearly a third of the new funds will be set aside for conservation and water re-use issues.