Posted: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 07:54 AM - 14,150 Readers

By: Kate Harrington

After a two-year drought affecting Central Texas, the Lower Colorado River Authority is torn between serving municipalities and businesses needing water from the six Highland Lakes, including Lake Travis, and residents who bought homes on or near Lake Travis for recreational purposes and its natural beauty.

“We do get a lot of comments from people. A lot of people who move out on the lake feel like they should see a lake and it should be full all the time,” said James Kowis, LCRA’s manager of water supply planning. “We also get comments from people … about levels coming up. No one is going to be happy all of the time. It requires us to have a lot of patience.”

Providing water

LCRA, a conservation and reclamation district created by the Texas Legislature in 1934, is charged with providing water to municipal water suppliers, industries, power plants and irrigated agriculture. One of its customers, the Travis County Water Control District No. 17, provides water and wastewater to residents of Apache Shores, Comanche Trail, Flintrock, River Ridge, Serene Hills and Steiner Ranch.

LCRA also provides water from the Highland Lakes to rice farmers downstream for irrigation. Although agricultural customers’ contracts are considered ‘interruptible’—meaning they are subject to rationing or curtailment before that of other customers—they still cause some concern, Deborah Gernes, district manager of WCID 17, said. Agricultural users like rice farmers use more than municipal customers, she said, and while the authority curtailed their supply last summer, it was only when extremely low volume levels were triggered. While the overall volume of water in Lake Travis may have been more than adequate to meet water customers’ needs, Gernes said the actual levels, which declined rapidly during 2009’s summer heat, also impact customers who need to reach below the water line to pump.

Into thin air

Kowis pointed out that one of the biggest “users” of water from Lake Travis has been evaporation—LCRA estimates that in 2008, the most recent data available, evaporation took 220,488 acre-feet out of the Highland Lakes. The City of Austin in that same year used about 170,119 acre-feet. The LCRA estimates that in Lake Travis alone, 70,100 acre-feet of water disappeared because of evaporation.

At the same time, more water than ever is projected to be drawn from the lake in coming years. The Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority has contracted with LCRA to buy water from Lake Travis to serve the growing needs of Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock. And the City of Austin is starting work on Water Treatment Plant 4, which will draw water from Lake Travis for its municipal supplies once its first phase is completed in 2014.

Recreational use

Many homeowners near Lake Travis moved to the area to enjoy a lake view or recreational amenities nearby, such as skiing, boating and fishing, but last summer many docks and boats that were once afloat on Lake Travis washed up on dry land.

The Travis County Water Control & Improvement District was created by the Travis County Commissioners Court in 1959, with a voter approval in 1960, to provide customers with safe, potable water. The white area indicates WCID 17 service area’s general boundaries. The district also includes “defined areas” Steiner Ranch, Flintrock and Comanche Trail (orange) and serves two “out-of-district areas,” Apache Shores and River Ridge (red). All areas pay the same water rates, but defined areas have additional tax rates and out-of-district areas pay fees in lieu of taxes and fees for revenue bonds issued for their water improvements. Call 266-1111 or visit www.wcid17.org.

LCRA’s plan of action during a drought

An acre-foot is the amount of water required to cover an area of one acre to a depth of one foot. One acre-foot of water is equal to almost 326,000 gallons.

• 2.01 million acre-feet — Lake is full
• 1.6 million acre-feet — Voluntary water conservation request
• 900,000 acre-feet — Mandatory conservation request
• 600,000 acre-feet — Worse than “drought of record”*; begin cutbacks of firm water users (cities, industries, power plants)
• 325,000 acre-feet — Cease water to interruptible (such as golf courses) customers for next year
• 200,000 acre-feet — Immediate cut off for rice irrigation

*Drought of record: The decade-long drought that affected Central Texas from the late 1940s through the late 1950s used as a benchmark by LCRA for all future droughts.

Kowis said he is well-aware of the frustration that surrounds Lake Travis when water levels plunge. The authority fields not only complaints but lawsuits from individuals who sometimes feel the lake levels are plunging more than they should and impacting the quality of life the lake offers.

One such suit came from a dentist, Robert Wynne, who claimed LCRA last summer reduced the lake’s water levels too far, and did it in order to support its own electric generating plants around the Colorado River. LCRA’s official response is that it “owns and operates power plants pursuant to authority granted directly by the elected representatives in the legislature” and that as a flood control and water supply lake, Travis’ levels must fluctuate in order to fulfill its charge.

LCRA officials say there is more than enough water in the Highland Lakes to serve the region’s needs for decades. However, Kowis said, if Central Texas’ growth continues at the same rate, the authority will eventually have to develop more water sources and push for even greater conservation measures.

Taking action

The drought caused the City of Rollingwood, which buys its water directly from the City of Austin, to act. On Jan. 20, Rollingwood City Council created a Water Conservation Task Force.

“We just had one of the worst droughts in Texas history,” said Sue Bryant, past chair of Rollingwood’s utility commission. “Rollingwood is a small community, but we feel we can put together a plan to work on the amount of [water] we use … we have to be careful about bumping up against the maximum usage with the City [of Austin]. We want to be a good partner, and do our part to conserve water.”

The purpose of developing a water conservation plan is to include overall water-use goals and strategies for the city, according to the proposal given to council at its regular meeting.

Up to nine members will compose the task force, with the responsibility of customer education, promoting xeriscaping and green building, and identifying ways to recapture rainwater and gray water for Rollingwood. The city is now soliciting applications for the task force.