BOATER SAFETY TIPS

With Lake Travis open to recreational boating for the first weekend since the drought-breaking flood began, LCRA encourages boaters to play it safe. See full story with water safety tips.

FLOODGATE VIEW

This photo from the top of Tom Miller Dam shows the releases from one of the two remaining partially opened floodgates. (Click for larger view.)

Watch video showing the impact and LCRA's response to the June-July flood (10:30).

UPDATE: STATUS OF BOAT RAMPS, PARKS

Travis County and LCRA are reopening public boat ramps at Lake Travis facilities this week as follows: Mansfield Dam Park Pace Bend Park Cypress Creek Park Sandy Creek Park Open boat ramps at LCRA recreation areas Gloster Bend The Narrows All other public boat ramps at Travis County and LCRA facilities remain closed until Lake Travis drops further. See full story for more information and links.

BACTERIA ALERT

LCRA reminds people of the hazards associated with boating or swimming in water that has received runoff from heavy rains. Swimming in natural water bodies after flood events increases your risk of illness caused by bacteria. Higher bacteria levels typically return to normal in about a week to 10 days after the peak runoff.

See situation report for details on dam operations and lake and river conditions.

CRA has closed the last remaining open floodgate at Mansfield Dam, signaling a winding down of a 23-day flood event that followed torrential rains throughout the Hill Country on June 27.

Lake Travis continues to fall because LCRA is operating hydroelectricity units at Mansfield Dam — which forms Lake Travis. At this time LCRA plans to continue operating all three of the dam's hydroelectricity units — and release more than 7,000 cubic feet of water per second — through Sunday. However, LCRA as always advises that significant rainfall could change operational plans and cause additional floodgate operations with little or no warning.

At 6 p.m., the elevation of Lake Travis has dropped to 682.9 feet above mean sea level (msl) and continues to fall. The lake's level is nearly 19 feet lower than its recent peak elevation July 6; however, the lake — created to hold floodwaters — remains in its flood pool. Lake Travis is at full elevation at 681 feet msl.

Downstream, LCRA plans to keep two floodgates partially open at the smaller Tom Miller Dam, which forms Lake Austin, to pass floodwaters downstream.

Lakes open, but City of Austin waterways still closed
On Monday, LCRA reopened Lake Travis to recreational boating; the lake had been closed for more than two weeks after a deluge of rain hit the Hill Country and the Austin area, causing unsafe conditions. LCRA continues to caution boaters to watch for debris and other hazards that may damage watercraft or injure people. The upper Highland Lakes – Buchanan, Inks, LBJ and Marble Falls – are open to recreation. A section of Lake Austin, Town Lake and the Colorado River near Longhorn Dam remain closed to boating until at least Friday (July 20), according to the City of Austin, which manages these waterways. (See City of Austin news release.)

Lake Travis boaters beware: It's not the same lake
Boaters, especially those not familiar with Lake Travis, should exercise due caution as they venture onto the lake, said Tim Bradle of LCRA’s Water Surface Management department.

LCRA staff is still replacing on Lake Travis some channel markers and buoys that were moved or lost during the flood. “Boaters need to exercise caution, as some navigational channels and hazards may not be marked,” Bradle said.

Bradle added that boaters should avoid creating wakes at Graveyard Point, the subdivision that is the first to be inundated when Lake Travis is in its flood pool. At the Lake Travis' current elevation, most of the houses at Graveyard Point are out of the water. But many houses could be damaged by wakes created by boats.

LCRA officials note that Lake Travis and Mansfield Dam – designed specifically to hold and safely release Hill Country floodwaters – continue to do their job of protecting Austin and downstream communities from the worst effects of floods.

LCRA closed Lake Travis to recreation June 29, following rains on June 27 that dropped up to 19 inches in some Hill Country locations. The rainfall ultimately poured more than 1 million acre-feet of water into the Highland Lakes chain. The floodwaters caused an already full Lake Travis to peak July 6 at 701.52 feet msl — its fifth-highest elevation since Mansfield Dam was completed in 1942.

See situation report with latest info on dam operations and lake and river forecasts.