did anyone else notice that Travis came up 4 foot?  we need more!!

I noticed!
Just need 12 more storms like that one.

We were reaping the benefits of it. Although there is tons of junk in the water. It's nice to see the water up a little. Would like to see it up more, but I've never been out on Travis at full pool.

Plus I've been sick. So I didn't even want to bring the hammer out. Just had to watch my buddy bomb around in his new Nordic and be jealous.

Still haven't seen the Nordic :) Belton was not bad today. Up a few feet, not too much crap in there. Time to take the sundeck off and get it redone. Maybe we will have a few more rain storms while my HO is down.

Its gonna be out there on lake travis a lot this summer.

Yeah you can tell a difference but it's not much. Yes definitely tons of garbage in the water. I broke my own rule going out after a storm. I think I caught a log on Saturday. Took a small dinger in the front of my hull. I guess it's time to learn how to gel.

I went to lake Austin on Friday after work for a spin. After a trip to past the 360 bridge we were heading back to the dam and something didn't seem right. I looked back and water was spraying up everywhere. I stopped immediately and saw a couple broken 2x4s floating away. Guess I was dragging them on the outdrive. It's def gonna be a learning curve for myself. I didn't think about the potential for damage from all the garbage.

Yeah, not the best idea to go out after a big rain event. I never have and the one time I did, bang...there's the reason I shouldn't. You're lucky!

The pain about this one is...I wasn't even going fast. I had my friend's kids on the bow and I was going around 30-35 the whole day. Barely on plane. If I was cooking around WOT, sure...but that's not my luck.

We were on the lake July 4th (10 or so years ago) the day after Marble Falls got 18" of rain overnight. Saw all kinds of stuff floating around. Docks, parts of docks, boats, logs, entire trees and a bunch of other misc crap. Made night boating down right frightening! We did hear one thud, but didn't see any damage.
Found the best thing to do is follow someone else and pay close attention to them.

has anyone been down to Jones Brother's park?  I went down there the other day and there is a lot of trees that have grown up.  I fear that when the water comes back they will either become under water obstacles or they will be floating down the lake roots and all.   I had wondered if Jonestown could take them down or is that an LCRA thing?  or maybe the land owners need to.

Wouldn't that be awesome if the water came back sooner rather than later so we could have that kind of launching problem?  :)

I'm pretty sure the land owners have water rights only so far into the ... what is now a gulley. Beyond that, I would imagine it would end up being a combination of Jonestown/owners to help clear the path should that area ever get to that point. You could pretty much just drive a tractor down there and clear a bunch of it. Or a Bobcat if you're really bored.

Land rights really very city to city, lot to lot. Most is LCRA but private land owners can own out past the high water mark. Not all do.  Nobody really is required to clear trees or brush however to my knowledge. 
LCRA could do it even if a private homeowner owns the land as they govern its use, but I really doubt they have the equipment or funds to do so. The biggest challenge is timing.  No sense clearing now if it will all just grow back in a year or two.  Alternately, if the drought does break with a big rain event, there is not enough warning to clear trees before it does.  Most likely it will be cleared an inch at a time with 300hp weedwhackers.  :-[ Its a good opportunity for anyone who wants to master the art of prop repair.

I was looking at the Pedernales this weekend....that's a complete forest!

Looking forward to having these problems though

Agreed it would be a good problem to have!!

Still rising and calling for rain Tuesday and Wednesday fingers crossed!!!

Looks like we have leveled off a bit. C'mon rain.

Cool seeing water touching the bottom of the Mansfield ramp.

Holy F is it coming down!!!

Oh YA? we only got a sprinkle here on the south side.

It needs to all be on the north west side!!  come on rain I want jones brothers back!!

Doesn't pertain to you crazy kids, but my street flooded out pretty well today :)

I was in Killeen Monday morning 8-10 it came down crazy and a lot of places lost power.

I live on Cow Creek and we have the same tree problem.  20 foot+ Cottonwoods now growing down the center of the channel.  I contacted LCRA about this and this is what they said:

Recently, you submitted the following quesiton to Ask LCRA:
Hello,

I live on Cow Creek and have several hundred feet of Cow Creek frontage sitting at the 655 elevation level. Because we have not had water in this part of the lake since 2011, Cottonwood trees and other invasive species are starting to line the entire length of the creek normally under water. The vegetation is getting to be over 20' high and will choke the access to our properties when the lakes come back.

Any suggestions or thoughts on how we preserve this historic part of Lake Travis before it becomes unaccessible for future generations of Lake users?

I sincerely appreciate your inputs on this matter!

Regards,

Dale Thompson
dale.thompson@intel.com
512-423-7873

Here is the answer:
Mr. Thompson,

The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) appreciates your interest in the natural resources of the lower Colorado River basin. At this time, the LCRA does not generally remove trees or other vegetation from the lakebeds during periods of prolonged drought. Trees, vegetation, and other natural features in the lakebed serve important ecological functions both when the lake is low and when water levels rise. These functions include reducing further erosion and sedimentation during rain events and providing habitat for the lake’s fisheries.

When lake levels rise and trees or other identified navigation hazards become submerged, they are marked by LCRA’s Water Surface Management Department. Either temporary or permanent marking devices are used depending on the severity of the hazard. If you have additional questions regarding vegetation in Lake Travis or Buchanan, please feel free to contact LCRA at 1-800-776-5252 ext. 7213.


Thank you,


Jarrod J. Depew
Supv-Natural Resource Conservation
Lower Colorado River Authority
830-596-

Sooooooo basically....They could care less about being able to recreate.

or they enjoy obstacles either going down the lake or under the water!