Time To Celebrate: Lake Travis Is Full And The Current Drought Is Officially Over

Yesterday, the water level of Lake Travis rose above 681 feet above mean sea level (msl) for the first time since the fall of 2007, after dropping below 630 feet msl in late September of last year. The El Nino weather pattern is what normally brings Texas out of its recurring historical droughts, and the El Nino of the last 6 months was no exception, raising the level of Lake Travis over 51 feet since its lowest water level during the current drought.

The full pool of the lake, and the end of the drought, is great news and certainly cause for celebration in the Texas Hill Country. Last summer, the low lake level closed most, if not all, of the lake’s public boat ramps. This had a negative financial impact on businesses along the lake, including marinas, waterfront restaurants, music venues, hotels, and tourist rental properties. Equally bad, “sometimes islands” appeared on the lake, causing accidents and injuries, especially among boaters unfamiliar with the lake. And, residents across the hill country, dealt with the watering restrictions common in times of drought.

This year will be much different. Currently, the lake level is 10 feet above what the level would normally be during a typical March. Businesses along all of the Highland Lakes, including Lake Travis, will no doubt thrive this year, but, then again, this is Texas, the land of feast or famine. Texans in the hill country have learned how to adapt to fast changing weather and climate over the years. One year’s prosperity might bring something quite different the next year. We’ve seen it all before, and, many times.

But, given the current conditions, it is time to celebrate the “feast” of a full lake and the end of the current drought. I will enjoy it while I can, because Texas weather history tells me, it won’t last forever.

Some Things Folks Just Have To Learn For Themselves

It was last Thanksgiving when it all started, and at least for this one time, I can blame my wife.

My wife, I suspect, is one of the few people that swim in Lake Travis all year long. I’m sure there are others, but I don’t see them. Anyway, as is her custom, she gets up early and heads down to the lake. As the drought deepened last year, and the “sometimes peninsula” where we live grew, she would drive her car further out and closer to the water to park before her daily swims. This all came to an abrupt end on Thanksgiving Day 2008.

I was enjoying sleeping in on that holiday morning when my phone rang. It was my wife. Matter-of –factly mentioning that her car was stuck in the mud; she calmly asked me to come down and help push it out. Knowing my wife’s propensity to understate the gravity of a situation from time to time, I woke up my two boys, home for the holiday, as insurance.

When we got down there, it was immediately apparent that all the pushing in the world would not dislodge a car up to its hood in mud. My sons were laughing, but I was not amused. This was a job for AAA.

Surprisingly, despite being a holiday, the call for help was answered promptly and soon a truck was out on the sand with us. After nearly getting stuck himself, the driver finally got the car pulled out, and after giving the car a bath, we enjoyed the rest of the day. We all learned a lesson that day about staying well away from the water’s edge with any type of vehicle. The trend my wife started that morning, however, would live on.

It seems that our family lesson had to be learned repeatedly by others. Since that holiday morning last year, we have watched with increasing amusement as hundreds of golf carts, cars, police cars, trucks, tow trucks and jeeps have been stuck. We’ve seen it all. Golf carts, for reasons unknown, driving straight into the lake. Trucks pulling trucks pulling other trucks getting stuck. We’ve learned to predict the vehicles which will get stuck with uncanny ability. Most amazing, are the “repeat offenders” who for some reason continually drive to the same place and expect a different result. You would think after nearly a year of watching people digging out, folks in our small community would start putting two and two together and stay out of the mud. Nope. It is now just a couple months shy of a year since my wife started it all, and the mud and sand claimed two more victims today. Some things folks just have to learn for themselves.

A month or two ago, my wife had to call AAA again for some car trouble. The AAA driver got out of his truck took one look at her and said, “You’re the lady who got the car stuck in Lake Travis last Thanksgiving.”

The Lake Travis Time Machine

H.G. Wells has nothing on Lake Travis. One of the few benefits of the extremely low lake level this year is the ability to literally travel back in time. As Lake Travis has shrunk, shorelines retreated, and the “sometimes islands” have appeared, it is possible to walk on the historical ground that used to be land along the Colorado River prior to the lake’s creation in 1941.

Thousands of tree stumps and remnants of old buildings have been basking in the oppressive Texas heat, after being submerged for so many years under water. Unfortunately, other historical “treasures” have surfaced as well. Cars, motorcycles, tires, rusty beer cans, bottles, batteries, gloves, bricks, barrels and old ropes have all been given up by the lake. While each and every one of the items “coming to the surface” has a history, it is an unpleasant history of carelessness and neglect.

Last Sunday, the annual Lake Travis Underwater and Shoreline Cleanup took place. Each year, volunteers remove huge amounts of this “historical” trash from the lake, and this year was no exception.

Soon, hopefully, the rains will begin anew. The past and its historical treasures, both good and bad, will once again disappear as the water begins to rise.