Lake Travis water levels still low despite recent rainfall

A steady flow of water moved down Cypress Creek Monday morning. 

The water that pooled up was enough for a fly-fishing class. Reel'n in a catch wasn’t exactly the goal.

"We are doing an intro lesson. I’m teaching people some basics, getting them oriented, trying to figure out some things they can do, so they can get out there and enjoy nature," said fishing instructor Johnny Guerra.

Casting a line into moving water, for Guerra, is a welcome change. Especially after a long hot summer without rain.

"A lot of the guiding a do is on the Llano, the Guadalupe, upper Guad, those places were just bone dry. And I was looking at the charts recently the flows, just to see those spikes on the flow chart, it was like, ‘oooh we are going to have some rain man,’" said Guerra.

Runoff from recent rains has created a green channel on both sides of Cypress Creek. Most boat docks, however, remain grounded. 

The main body of Lake Travis appears to be creeping back into the cove. August inflows into Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan totaled just under 5,000 acre feet, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). But water managers say that amount is 8% of the historical average for August.

The LCRA provided updates on lake capacity:

  • Lake Travis is currently 52% full
  • Lake Buchanan is at 63% full
  • Combined capacity of both lakes is at 57% percent.