Lake Austin business owners concerned about economic impact of lake drawdown in the fall
Posted: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 02:44 PM - 36 Readers
By: FOX 7 Austin
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.
