Lake Austin will be lowered about 12 feet from Oct. 12 to Nov. 30 so property owners can clean docks and crews can do maintenance and temporarily manage hydrilla. The Lower Colorado River Authority is drawing the lake down at the City of Austin’s request. Public boat ramps will close, swimming at Emma Long Metro Park will be off-limits, and water will be released through Tom Miller Dam. The lake is expected to drop about a foot a day for three weeks, sit low for four weeks of work, then start refilling from Lake Travis on Nov. 24 at about two feet a day. Drawdowns used to happen in winter; the last one was in 2017, and future ones are not supposed to occur more than once every four years.
Lake businesses say the fall timing will hit them hard. David Callejas of Float On Boat Rentals called October one of his best months because of UT football, ACL, and F1, and he estimates hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses and about 20 employees out of work. Tara Carr of Lake Austin Marina said weddings and rentals were already booked and that the marina sells seven to nine times more fuel in October–November than in January–February. Owners wanted a winter or mid-November-to-December drawdown and say they were not meaningfully consulted. LCRA said it stopped planning winter drawdowns after Winter Storm Uri so Highland Lakes hydroelectric plants stay available in cold weather. The city said the drawdown is not a lake-wide hydrilla treatment. A community open house is set for Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 6–8 p.m. at the City of Austin Permitting and Development Center.
Lake Travis has a new barbecue option. Good BBQ Company, which got its start as a food trailer on East 12th Street in Austin, is now open at its second location inside Lake Trav...
Construction is underway on Pickleball Grove, a planned 15-court racquet sports complex at 5411 Reimers Peacock Road in Spicewood. Crews broke ground Oct. 12 on the first four o...
Canyon Ranch's new Hill Country wellness resort in Spicewood is scheduled to open for overnight guests on Oct. 22, Community Impact reports. The 600-acre property will have 141...
Community Impact's latest roundup lists 14 business changes across the Lake Travis-Westlake area, including several near the lake. In Spicewood, Infinite Hitting - Lake Travis i...
