The consistent decline in Highland Lakes water levels ended in mid-September when a slew of storms rained over Austin.
Approximately 5.7 inches of rain has dropped on the area since mid-September, according to Weather Underground data. The rain came at a very opportune time, as the lakes were nearing record-low combined storage levels, said Marcie Lasseigne, senior communications specialist at the Lower Colorado River Authority, which manages the water in lakes Travis and Buchanan.
"We didn't get that much rain, but it fell in just the right spot to really help the [Highland] Lakes," she said. "Even though it wasn't a drought-buster, it was enough to raise combined storage about 27,000 acre-feet, and that's a significant increase."
Lake levels were dropping 1,500–1,700 acre-feet on average per day before a significant rainfall—2.92 inches on Sept. 20—helped reverse the trend. While the rain was helpful, lake levels are still significantly lower than at the start of the year and on pace to drop below 600,000 acre-feet by the end of the year, "but more rain could push that off even further," Lasseigne said. LCRA staff originally predicted the lakes would hit the 600,000 acre-feet milestone—the level at which the drought of record is declared—by mid- to late October.
LCRA board members considered preemptively declaring the drought of record during their Sept. 17 board meeting. LCRA board Vice Chairman John C. Dickerson made such a motion, prompting the board to recess for nearly one hour to discuss the legality of declaring the drought of record before the Highland Lakes' combined storage reaches 600,000 acre-feet.
After the closed-door discussion, LCRA board members returned to reject the proposal 12-3.
"I'm personally not in favor of this because I think there's significant legal issues associated with this," LCRA board Chairman Tim Timmerman said. "We've not been down this road before. Before we take this on, I think we need a lot more legal advice."
The board instead voted 9-6 to request relief from sending any more water downstream this year to help replenish freshwater levels in Matagorda Bay. The relief requires Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approval and would save LCRA from sending 5,834 acre-feet downstream for the rest of 2013.
"I can assure you there will be many more discussions on this," Timmerman said.
