Despite Travis County receiving multiple inches of rain as a result of Hurricane Harvey over the weekend, the Lower Colorado River Authority’s hydromet system shows little change in area lake levels.
The hydromet is a system of river and weather gauges used to measure conditions along the lower Colorado River basin, according to LCRA’s website.
The following rainfall totals were recorded by the hydromet between Aug. 22 and 29:
- 10.84 inches at Longhorn Dam on Ladybird Lake east of downtown Austin;
- 7.97 inches of rain at Tom Miller Dam on Lake Austin;
- 7.73 inches at Barton Creek at Capital of Texas Hwy.; and
- 4.78 inches of rain at Mansfield Dam on Lake Travis.
Over that same period, LCRA reports water levels in Lake Travis have increased by only 0.07 feet, reaching a depth of 672.84 feet above sea level as of 1 p.m. on Aug. 29. Over the past 30 days, Lake Travis water levels have decreased by 0.77 feet.
LCRA reports Lake Austin water levels have decreased by 0.73 feet over the past seven-day period to 491.45 feet above sea level as of 1 p.m. on Aug. 29. Over the past month, the Lake Austin water levels have decreased by 0.63 feet.
“Most of the rainfall in the area fell in east Travis County and Bastrop County,” LCRA spokesperson Clara Tuma said. "The heaviest rain fell downstream of Austin, where some communities saw 15-20 inches or more of rain over several days. Rainfall totals near the Highland Lakes ranged from less than an inch near Lake Buchanan to widespread totals of 2-4 inches near Lake Travis. This was not enough rain to make a significant difference in lake levels."
