When it comes to water, Austinites have a great deal to be thankful for this holiday season. According to golaketravis.com, the Thanksgiving weekend rainstorms were concentrated in the Hill Country. Some areas in that region received more than 2.5 inches of rain in three days: and the Hill Country is the primary recharge zone for the Highland Lake chain, which is where Austin draws its water.
Currently, Lakes Travis and Buchanan are seeing their highest levels since December 2007. Looking back to January of this year, Lake Travis was sitting at 624 ft. Since then, it has risen a little over 50 ft. for the month of December, at 674 ft. Lake Buchanan has seen a similarly spectacular rise. It began 2015 at 986 ft. and is ending the year at 1011 ft. (it’s considered full at 1020 ft.).
Lake Buchanan is the highest in the Highland Lake chain and Travis is second lowest. Runoff from Lake Buchanan works through Inks, LBJ and Marble Falls and eventually ends up in Lake Travis. But Buchanan is located deep in the Hill Country, which on average sees less rainfall that areas closer to Austin.
The situation in the rest of Texas is now great. The state is now drought-free with only a few regions in the south and southwest registering abnormally low levels of moisture. Central Texas became drought-free in early November and is free of even long-term low-moisture spots at this time.
All this excellent news, however, does not mean that Austinites are now free to waste water. According to the latest data from Austin Water Utility, the city is still in Stage 2 Water Restriction . So despite the good news, Austin is playing it smart – and safe – and conserving the one resource that is so vital to preserving the health and beauty of our unique landscape.
At South Austin Irrigation, our experts are here to help you with all your irrigation repair needs. Keep us in mind when your irrigation system needs service or repair.
