Posted: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 05:50 PM - 7,355 Readers

By: Steve Alberts

The pitter-patter of rain is music to Pete Clark's ears.
 
“We’re tickled to death to see it,” he said.

Clark is the owner of Just For Fun Watercraft Rental on Lake Travis. Five months ago he told KVUE News he had one of the worst summers on record. He blamed the drought that has had a grip on much of central Texas. He says the healthy downpours are just what is needed.

“Every rainy day just means we’re going to have one more sunny day in the summer,” said Clark. “This is great insurance for us.  We love to see it.”

The weather was hardly perfect last summer. It was the hottest summer in Austin's history. The drought took a visible toll on the lake.  Normally submerged islands popped up causing boating hazards and public boat ramps were closed at Mansfield Dam. The lake reached its third lowest level in history October 4th dropping to 629.83 feet.

Inside the Lower Colorado River Authority River Operation Center, Supervisor Dave Walker and his staff monitor giant screens and predict how much lake levels will rise.

“So far we've seen about one inch of widespread soaking rain out of this system,” said Walker. “The meteorologist tells me we might get 1-2 inches out of it.”

More good soaking rains are expected thanks in part to El Nino. As of Wednesday, Lake Travis was 6 feet below normal. But LCRA officials are forecasting a much better year.

“Conditions on the lake are looking to be much better this coming summer compared to the summer of 2009,” said Walker.

“It kind of makes the future look bright again,” said Clark.

LCRA is expecting Lake Travis to rise another foot over the next couple of days bringing the lake to about 665 feet or about 75 percent full.

*  Story Contributed by: Steve Alberts