Drought Leaving the Texas Hill Country, Lake Travis Water Rising

The end of the recent drought is near. Two years ago, the Texas Hill Country and central sections of Texas entered a season of severe drought! Rain was rare and the hot searing sun helped to create a dry parched land! Some lake levels were reduced to half of their original levels. Lake Travis suffered severely and so did the businesses around its banks. Boating on the lake was difficult! It was so severe this past summer that docks were not only dry, but were left many feet away from the wet outer edges of a dwindling lake! Marinas were extended far into the reduced waters in an effort to make boating available to their customers.

We began August with mere streams where inlets of water once stood and boats once danced upon the waves. Weathermen reported that Lake Travis reached fifty percent of its usual levels during these hot months. I am sure that the water conditions have created a financial disaster for many businesses along the waterfront! Plants and vegetation have been greatly damaged. Where did all of the water go?

Entire inlets in the Texas Hill Country were dry from lack of rain. Only a small trickle of a stream at the lowest point of this inlet could flow. Huge areas of parched land were exposed to the dry climate of summer. Most lake vegetation dried up and disappeared! Cracks in the land were exposed as the sun beat down on the rocky soil day after day! Cloud cover was hard to find!

The Texas Hill Country had several days of rain, slow soaking rain. In September of 2009, the drought began to break. The runoff from the hills continues days after a rain, increasing the lake levels slowly. These rains are like a bathtub with a dripping faucet. It takes awhile to see the changes on the outskirts of the lake! As you can see, Lake Travis is slow to rise!

Sure there is a lot of land around Lake Travis that still remains exposed and uncovered by waters that once were. More rain has fallen this past week and the waters are slowly rising. That once small stream that barely trickled is now a small body of water that is continuing to expand. Streams of water come from several directions to feed more liquid into this area of the hill country. The sun glistens on the water on this beautiful and cold January day! Hope shines through!

It has rained for the last two days. Some of the showers were slow and soaking, others were downpours that lasted for various periods of time. The water is flowing in at a rapid pace. Needless to say, we have acquired more rainfall and Lake Travis is rising! The boat ramp is no longer totally exposed to the elements, but its base touches the rising body of water. Lake Travis is beginning to look like a lake again instead of a creek or expanding river. There is more rain in the forecast for next week. Updates will follow!

The rains in the Texas Hill Country have moved on and the clouds are departing. The runoff from the hills is swift and powerful, filling the lake with a steady flow of water. My little inlet is beginning to fill and I hear that the islands in the middle of the main Lake are disappearing beneath the rising waters. Our water supply is increasing! The local boat ramp is now available for the hearty soul who wants to brave the cool waters. The unsightly orange cones are gone! It is truly exciting to see the daily changes in our area!

This day dawns bright and sunny. It is still cool in the shade, but some brave boaters are on the water today due to the cooperating lake levels! The water has continued to flow from the hillsides into Lake Travis and the difference is evident today. The boat ramps are not only open, but boaters are enjoying a Saturday ride. More land is covered today than yesterday and still a steady stream of water is flowing into the lake from several different locations.

The sides of the roads leading to the lake are still lined with puddles and small streams as the water running off of the hills heads to lower ground, eventually the lake. It could take an entire week for the ground to dry. The weatherman says there will be more rain next week. Clouds will be moving in tomorrow in preparation for the change in weather!

I look forward to my next peek at Lake Travis as the healing of the land continues!

I continue to be amazed at how fast Lake Travis is filling up.Wow!  We had another rainy day with about an inch of rain. The effects on the lake are much greater than the mere inch of rain that fell from the skies! The streams of water continue to pour off of the hillsides and add significant amounts of water to Lake Travis. Daily visits to the lake have been exciting as everyday shows a marked change in the water levels!

Lake Travis is not full yet, but it is looking better than it has in a very long time. The water continues to flow from the hillside because of a large amount of rain just yesterday. You can see from the photos that there is still dry land to be covered, but the boats are again able to navigate into the main body of the Lake and the marinas are enjoying decent water levels again. Mr. Weatherman says that we are going to have five days of sunshine. I expect that there is sufficient runoff to continue to increase the lake even with the cool sunny days!

I took a drive to my favorite park on Lake Travis today. The sun was shining bright and the temperature hovered around 50 degrees. The rains have continued to pour more water into this lake and raise the lake levels. For the first time in over a year, the Lake Travis water levels are adequate. It is not overflowing, it is adequate. It is still early in the year and more rain is forecast for later, but the parks are open, the boat ramps are being used, and lake homeowner boat docks are where they need to be.I am ending this blog on a positive note. The two year drought has come to an end and Lake Travis is looking like a lake again! I celebrate with the business owners, property owners and park and recreation department. The dry creek beds are once again flowing with water. Now go out there and enjoy the Summer!

It is the middle of March and the weatherman says Lake Travis is 99% full! We had to drive to our little inlet and take some pictures! Even the last few days have made a difference in the lake levels. Just a few days ago, we could see land that is no longer dry, but nicely covered with water. Looking good!