Lake Travis - Westlake Edition | May 2023

Highland Lakes A series of humanmade lakes and dams makes up the Highland Lakes, serviced by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The LCRA serves its water clients by releasing water upstream in the Colorado River, which runs from the Texas Panhandle to the Gulf of Mexico.

incredibly well, then people will nd a way to get there,” Adams said. He said business at Crosswaters has seen a slight decrease recently, which he attributed to a natural decline from 2020 highs. As people in the area sought outdoor activities, Adams said, they turned to boating. The marina is still doing well, he said, with a level of business comparable to 2019. Adams is also president of the Marina Association of Texas and said other marinas may be having dierent experiences based on the lake’s topography. While some may have to relocate entirely based on the lake level, others such as Crosswaters are able to simply move farther into the lake. “All the marinas on Lake Travis are table anchored, so they have winches and cables,” Adams said. “When you’re letting the marina go up and down, you’re adjusting it side to side, front and back. You’re constantly adjusting.” Roger Duee, general manager of MarineMax Sail & Ski, said his business has not been impacted by the lake levels as people continue to purchase boats from both his Lakeway and Austin locations. However, he has heard from customers who have been experiencing some diculty as low water levels prompt closures at public ramps. As of early May, only two public Lake Travis boat ramps are open. “The challenge is for the people that choose to trailer their boat and use the public launch ramps,” Duee said. “What would be ideal is if Travis County and the LCRA would invest in the infrastructure to extend boat ramps and continue to make the lake accessible for the people who are Following the yearslong trend of low water levels at Lake Travis, Shannon Hamilton, executive director of the Central Texas Water Coalition, said she is concerned about the region’s water supply as many cities draw water from the Highland Lakes system. “Our biggest concern is there is no plan for a drought worse than the drought of record,” Hamilton said. “We’re highly concerned about the highland lakes.” The LCRA manages a network of lakes and dams in Central Texas called the Highland Lakes. Located northwest of Austin, the lakes are in an arid part of the state that is prone to both ooding and drought. Made up of Lakes Buchanan, Inks, Lyndon reliant on trailering.” Conservation eorts

LAKE BUCHANAN

LAKES

DAMS

Lake Buchanan Inks Lake

Buchanan Dam Wirtz Dam Manseld Dam Inks Dam Max Starcke Dam Tom Miller Dam

KINGSLAND

Lake Travis Lake Austin Lake Marble Falls Lake Lyndon B. Johnson

MARBLE FALLS

COLORADO RIVER

JONESTOWN

LAKE TRAVIS

Clara Tuma, LCRA’s public information ocer, said 2022 was one of the worst years for water levels at Lake Travis. Data shows the lake is the lowest it has been since 2015. Near-decade low

AUSTIN

BEE CAVE

Historical water levels of Lake Travis

COURTESY GOOGLE MAPS©

700

682.54

673.6

680

660

639.23

655.73

629.85

640

620

628.19

2013

2014 2015

2016 2017

2018 2019 2020 2021

2022

2023

NOTE: AS OF MAY 16

SOURCE: LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITYCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Impact to local businesses In November, Community Impact reported that over the summer and fall some local businesses had seen lower trac from visitors. Shultz said some more businesses have closed since then, including Kitchen Del Mar Seafood, Grill and Bar as well as Vincent’s on the Lake. Historical data shows the lake has remained at around 640 mean sea

level, just under 32 feet lower than its historical May average. Roland Adams, the general manager of Crosswaters Yacht Club, who has operated multiple marinas on Lake Travis for over 20 years, said closings around the lake during low periods come down to a test of how that business is run and the bond built with the surrounding community. “In reality, if that restaurant was run

CONTINUED FROM 1

The amount of water owing into both Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan totaled just over 118,000 acre-feet, about 10% of average annual inows, LCRA Public Information Ocer Clara Tuma said. Even recent storm activity has not been enough to raise the lake’s level, LCRA data shows.

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM