Following the flood From the cover
Current situation
Level of Lake Travis at Mansfield Dam, 2015-2025 Since July 4, Lake Travis rose nearly 38 feet. Lake Travis is considered full at 681 feet above mean sea level.
800 ft. 760 ft. 720 ft. 680 ft. 640 ft. 600 ft. 0 ft. Feet above mean sea level
After the July 4 weekend rainfall increased Lake Travis’ water levels, Hurst Harbor Marina General Manager Nick Shepherd said sta are moving docks back to the private marina in Lakeway for the rst time in three years. “It’s a relief that the water has come back up, that mother nature helped us out, even though there was heartache associated with it,” Shepherd said. Formed by Mans eld Dam, Lake Travis is the only Highland Lake designed to capture and store oodwaters, and can hold up to 33 feet of additional water in its ood pool. This helps protect Austin and other downstream cities by storing oodwaters until they can be safely released, according to the LCRA. The Central Texas Water Coalition seeks to protect the water resources of the Highland Lakes. While Lake Travis is nearly full as of Aug.
754 ft. - Top of Mans eld Dam
714 ft. - Lake Travis has capacity to hold an additional 33 feet of water
681 ft. - Lake Travis is considered full
2018 Colorado River Flood
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
SOURCE: LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
14, current water management policy allows for signi cant downstream releases that could deplete storage, CTWC Executive Director
Shannon Hamilton said. “We need to learn from our past mistakes and protect the water we have now,” Hamilton said.
The impact
When it comes to local water conservation management, LCRA’s operation of the Highland Lakes is governed by its 2020 Water Management Plan, which includes firm and interruptible water contracts. Firm contracts supply water to cities, businesses and industries, while interruptible contracts supply water to agricultural customers. Due to drought conditions and to meet firm contract demands, LCRA officials cut off select agricultural customers from receiving water supply in March—an action recommended in the WMP. Officials will reevaluate water availability for those customers in March 2026, per the LCRA.
Hill Country received over 20 inches of rain over two days, per the LCRA. As a result, the Guadalupe and San Gabriel rivers surged beyond their banks, flooding nearby communities. State climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon told Community Impact warmer oceans and atmo- spheres carry more water, which causes intense rainfall. “The broader footprint of the ocean temperature change is affecting Texas rainfall most directly,” Nielsen-Gammon said. While the frequency of extreme rain has likely doubled with climate change, Nielsen-Gammon said that doesn’t necessarily translate to the magnitude of certain floods.
The LCRA manages Lake Travis, one of the six Highland Lakes on the lower Colorado River, LCRA Public Information Officer Clara Tuma said. Rainfall in the northern part of the lakes system during early July resulted in LCRA opening flood- gates farther upstream, causing the level of Lake Travis to rise substantially over a few weeks. The Highland Lakes are part of “flash flood alley,” a region prone to flash floods due to steep terrain, shallow soil and unusually high rainfall rates, according to the LCRA. A flash flood is a sudden and violent flood that can take anywhere from minutes to hours to develop, according to the National Weather Service. During the July 4 weekend, some areas of the
The six Highland Lakes Lakes Buchanan and Travis are primary water supply reservoirs, while lakes Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls and Austin are pass-through lakes, per the LCRA.
Highland Lakes water use by source in 2024 In 2024, 75.49% of all water used from the Highland Lakes went to nonagricultural customers.
Nonagricultural customers: 144,238 acre-feet
0.28%
24.23%
Environmental releases: 46,296 acre-feet
Lake Buchanan
Lake Marble Falls
Inks Lake
Gulf Coast
Lake Austin
Agricultural customers: 529 acre-feet
75.49%
Lake LBJ
Lake Travis
SOURCE: CENTRAL TEXAS WATER COALITION/COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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