Austin Flooding Leads To Lake Travis Recreational Boating Ban

AUSTIN, TX -- Lower Colorado River Authority officials on Monday said they will close Lake Travis to recreational boating given the abundance of debris after several days of heavy rainfall that makes such activities dangerous.

"LCRA is taking this action due to the increasing danger submerged objects pose to recreational boaters and the detrimental impact of boat wakes to property," officials wrote in an advisory. "Floodgate operations are under way at Buchanan, Wirtz, Starcke, Mansfield and Tom Miller dams along the Highland Lakes."

LCRA officials said the boating ban would take effect at 8:30 p.m. June 6.

The LCRA is a regulatory body that has has stewardship over area waterways. its services include the delivery of electricity along with management of the water supply and environment of the lower Colorado River basis.

The Austin region experienced its wettest May on record, shattering the previous record said more than 150 years ago. According to The Weather Channel, the May tally was 17.59 inches, making it the wettest May on record -- by far since records have been kept. The total tops the record of 14.10 inches set in May 1895, according to rain gauges at Camp Mabry.

Mother Nature has put a real damper on recreation as summer ushers in. This past May was also the third-wettest month on record, Weather Channel officials noted. September 1921 is still the record-holding wettest month, with 20.78 inches.

"Austin Bergstrom International Airport logged its second-wettest May since records began in 1943, tallying 13.44 inches, exactly a quarter-inch shy of the May record set in 1965," officials wrote.

Such heavy rainfall inevitably dumps debris into waterways, and that's what has occurred at Lake Travis.

LCRA officials said excess water also is flowing over the designated spillway at Inks Dam, which has no floodgates. LCRA also has closed Inks Lake and Marble Falls and LBJ lakes to recreational boating as a result of heavy, flood-induced debris.

The LCRA previously has temporarily closed or made partially accessible a number of other waterways in the region as a result of the recent heavy rains. These include:

• Altair Boat Ramp
• Camp Creek Recreation Area
• FM 521 River Park
• Grelle Recreation Area
• Hollywood Bottom Park
• Lake Bastrop - North Shore Park
• Lake Bastrop - South Shore Park
• Low Water Crossing Recreation Area
• McKinney Roughs Nature Park
• Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area
• Plum Park on the Colorado
• Shaffer Bend Recreation Area
• Turkey Bend Recreation Area
• Narrows Recreation Area
• Gloster Bend

For more information, visit LCRA's Flood Operations Report. For more on LCRA's swift water and debris advisories, visit the Water Recreation and Safety page. You can also follow LCRA on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

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