Texas Reservoir Water Levels Hit Highest Point in 3 Years
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Lake Travis water levels jumped 20 feet in four days after torrential downpours battered Central Texas over the weekend.
The sudden rise in water levels comes as the popular Texas reservoir near Austin has battled years of drought. Prior to the onslaught of rain, the lake was only 43 percent full, according to Water Data for Texas. Now, the lake is 65 percent full.
Newsweek reached out to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), which manages the reservoir, by email for comment.
Travis Lake near Austin Texas in 2019 during a drought with the waterline way down - view from above with marinas and buildings and a water tower on shore under stormy sky.
Travis Lake near Austin Texas in 2019 during a drought with the waterline way down - view from above with marinas and buildings and a water tower on shore under stormy sky.
Susan Vineyard/iStockphoto/Getty
Why It Matters
Over the weekend, deadly floods surged through Central Texas. Some parts of the state saw more than 20 inches of rain, with the National Weather Service (NWS) attributing the excessive moisture to remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, which formed the weekend prior.
Urgent flood warnings were issued across Texas as rivers surged. More than 100 people have died, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas. More rain fell across the region on Monday.
What to Know
The water levels of many rivers have since receded, with no rivers in moderate or major flood stage on Tuesday morning, according to the National Water Center. However, Lake Travis levels continue to rise.
The sudden change comes as the lake has been gripped by a years-long drought, causing its water levels to fall dramatically and altering both the landscape and recreational patterns around the reservoir. Frequently, the lake has been less than half full, exposing areas and long-submerged objects rarely seen, such as hidden pecan groves and abandoned structures.
The persistent drought was driven by a combination of extreme heat, prolonged dry spells, and fluctuating rainfall patterns across Texas. Over the past several summers, the region experienced brutal heatwaves that lowered water tables in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. Although meteorologists have noted that wet periods—at times tied to the El Niño climate pattern—occasionally brought temporary relief, drought remained across the region.
Sporadic heavy downpours in 2024 helped raise Lake Travis water levels last summer, but then the lake continued its steady decline. Evaporation is the source of the largest depletion at the lake, said John Hofmann, executive vice president of the LCRA.
"The evaporation rates in our area use as much water as the city of Austin," Hofmann said, according to a report by CBS Austin.
Experts point out that aside from weather fluctuations, human factors such as population growth and increased water consumption also put pressure on Lake Travis. During times of drought, Texans across the region are urged to limit their water use, such as what is used in landscaping.
"What you can control is your discretionary water use. Continue to focus on the need for conservation measures as we go into the summertime. And I think increasingly given the growth that we see in our area, conservation needs to be a way of life," Hofmann said in the CBS Austin report.
However, more than water surged into Lake Travis over the weekend. Local meteorologists warned boaters against venturing into the lake as a debris mass from the floods moved towards the reservoir.
What People Are Saying
CBS Austin meteorologist Avery Tomasco posted on X on Friday: "The LCRA now says that all 10 floodgates may need to open overnight at Starcke Dam to pass flood water down to Lake Travis. That's a LOT of water moving through LBJ and Marble Falls. Lots of debris will be flowing quickly. I'd hold off on boating for the rest of the weekend."
LCRA said in a flood operation report for the Highland Lakes, which includes Lake Travis: "LCRA strongly advises people to stay out of the Highland Lakes for the next few days to avoid flood debris, fast-moving flows and bacteria levels that traditionally increase after a flood event."
What Happens Next
Although Lake Travis water levels are still rising, the rate at which they are increasing has started to slow. Although brief surges in moisture can temporarily alleviate water levels, Lake Travis is still 22 feet below its full pool, which happens at 681 feet. Recurring cycles of drought and flood are expected to continue changing the water levels of the lake.
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Vice President JD Vance Full List of Replican Representatives Who Voted in Favor Here is the full list of Republican representatives who voted for the Big Beautiful Bill which included these recent weather services cuts, according to an official roll call from the U.S. House of Representatives. Robert Aderholt (Ala.) Rick W. Allen (Ga.) Mark Alford (Mo.) David Amodei (Nev.) Jodey C. Arrington (Texas) Brian Babin (Texas) Don Bacon (Neb.) Jim Baird (Ind.) Troy Balderson (Ohio) Andy Barr (Ky.) Tom Barrett (Mich.) Michael Baumgartner (Wash.) Aaron Bean (Fla.) Nick Begich III (Alaska) Cliff Bentz (Ore.) Jack Bergman (Mich.) Josh Bice (Okla.) Andy Biggs (Ariz.) Sheri Biggs (S.C.) Gus Bilirakis (Fla.) Lauren Boebert (Colo.) Mike Bost (Ill.) Josh Brecheen (Okla.) Mike Bresnahan (Pa.) Vern Buchanan (Fla.) Tim Burchett (Tenn.) Eric Burlison (Mo.) Ken Calvert (Calif.) Kat Cammack (Fla.) Mike Carey (Ohio) John Carter (Texas) Earl "Buddy" Carter (Ga.) Juan Ciscomani (Ariz,) Ben Cline (Va.) Michael Cloud (Texas) Drew Clyde (Ga.) Tom Cole (Okla.) Mike Collins (Ga.) James Comer (Ky.) Eli Crane (Ariz.) Jeff Crank (Colo.) Rick Crawford (Ark.) Dan Crenshaw (Texas) Monica De La Cruz (Texas) Warren Davidson (Ohio) Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.) Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.) Byron Donalds (Fla.) Troy Downing (Mont.) Neal Dunn (Fla.) Beth Van Duyne (Texas) Chuck Edwards (N.C.) Jake Ellzey (Texas) Tom Emmer (Minn.) Ron Estes (Kan.) Gabe Evans (Colo.) Michael Ezell (Miss.) Pat Fallon (Texas) Kelly Fedorchak (N.D.) Randy Feenstra (Iowa) Randy Fine (Fla.) Brad Finstad (Minn.) Michelle Fischbach (Minn.) Scott Fitzgerald (Wis.) Chuck Fleischmann (Tenn.) Mike Flood (Neb.) Vince Fong (Calif.) Virginia Foxx (N.C.) Scott Franklin (Fla.) Russell Fry (S.C.) Russ Fulcher (Idaho) Andrew Garbarino (N.Y.) Brandon Gill (Texas) Carlos Gimenez (Fla.) Craig Goldman (Texas) Tony Gonzales (Texas) Lance Gooden (Texas) Paul Gosar (Ariz.) Sam Graves (Mo.) Mark Green (Tenn.) Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) 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Morgan Luttrell (Texas) Nancy Mace (S.C.) Ryan Mackenzie (Pa.) Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.) Celeste Maloy (Utah) Tracey Mann (Kan.) Brian Mast (Fla.) Michael McCaul (Texas) Lisa McClain (Mich.) Tom McClintock (Calif.) Richard McCormick (Ga.) Addison McDowell (N.C.) John McGuire (Va.) Mark Messmer (Ind.) Daniel Meuser (Pa.) Carol Miller ( Mary Miller (Ill.) Max Miller (Ohio) Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa) Cort Mills (Fla.) John Moolenaar (Mich.) Blake Moore (Utah) Barry Moore (Ala.) Riley Moore ( Tim Moore (N.C.) Nathanial Moran (Texas) Greg Murphy (N.C.) Troy Nehls (Texas) Dan Newhouse (Wash.) Ralph Norman (S.C.) Zach Nunn (Iowa) Jay Obernolte (Calif.) Andrew Ogles (Tenn.) Bob Onder (Mo.) Burgess Owens (Utah) Gary Palmer (Ala.) Jimmy Patronis (Fla.) Scott Perry (Pa.) August Pfluger (Texas) Guy Reschenthaler (Pa.) Mike Rogers (Ala.) Hal Rogers (Ky.) John Rose (Tenn.) David Rouzer (N.C.) Chip Roy (Texas) Michael Rulli (Ohio) John Rutherford (Fla.) Maria Salazar (Fla.) Steve Scalise (La.) 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What People Are Saying Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz said: "I also think it's worth noting that the National Weather Service Union, which had been very critical of the DOGE cuts, has publicly said that they don't believe that the reduction in staffing had any impact whatsoever on their ability to warn about this event." He added: "I think it is reasonable over time to engage in a retrospective and say at every level 'what could have been done better' because all of us would want to prevent this horrific life. But I think, just immediately trying to use it for either side to attack their political opponents, I think that's cynical and not the right approach – particularly at a time when we're dealing with a crisis and we're dealing with grief." President Donald Trump told reporters, after being asked on Sunday if he thinks the government needs to hire back meteorologists whose jobs were cut: "I would think not. This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people are there, they didn't see it. It's, I guess they said, once in 100 years. They've never seen anything like this." Representative Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat, on CNN: "I don't think it's helpful to have missing key personnel from the National Weather Service not in place to help prevent these tragedies." Cassidy DiPaola, author of the Substack newsletter Fossil Free Memo, which analyzes climate policy developments, wrote: "Just days before the flood, Texas Senator Ted Cruz helped pass the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, a sweeping fossil fuel giveaway that also slashed $200 million from Noaa's weather forecasting and public alert programs. The money was meant to improve early warnings for exactly the kind of fast-moving, deadly flooding that just hit his own state. The cuts weren't in the House version. Cruz added them in the Senate, behind closed doors, as chair of the committee that oversees Noaa." 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