Lake Austin drawdown delayed; stakeholders eye 2027 winter maintenance

The Lake Austin stakeholders said a winter drawdown between January and February could reduce disruptions to businesses and events around the lake.

AUSTIN, Texas — The planned Lake Austin drawdown is off for this year, but property owners and lake stakeholders are already looking ahead to 2027.

The city of Austin canceled the drawdown that had been scheduled for Oct. 12 through Nov. 30 after hearing concerns from businesses along the lake about the timing and potential impacts during the busy fall season.

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Now, some property owners and lake stakeholders are pushing for the maintenance work to happen early next year.

Drawdowns lower the lake level, giving property owners better access to docks and other shoreline structures for maintenance and cleanup.

Lea Holubec with the Lake Austin Task Force said the lake is an important part of Austin and needs to be maintained.

“Lake Austin is a jewel to the city of Austin and we need to take care of it, and it’s time we do that,” Holubec said.

The Lake Austin Task Force believes a winter drawdown between January and February could reduce disruptions to businesses and events around the lake.

“It’s off the table for 2026. We are still pushing and asking the LCRA to consider a January February drawdown for 2027. It’s the time of year that the lake is not used as much; it’s the coldest time of year historically,” she said. “That’s when the lake has been dropped 18 times since 1980. We have not had a drawdown since 2017, and it’s well needed for doc repair, hydrilla and other concerns.”

While stakeholders said the city has conducted drawdowns in January and February in the past, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), said it stopped doing winter drawdowns after the 2021 winter storm.

According to the city, the LCRA no longer conducts lake drawdowns during the winter period in order to help ensure hydroelectric generators at dams along the Highland Lakes remain available to support the Texas power grid during cold winter months.  

LCRA also proposed a Dec. 1 through Jan. 15 window for the drawdown. The city said that timing addressed some concerns but raised others related to holiday activities and seasonal businesses.

Mozart’s owner Ken Leonard said the proposed timeline would overlap with the business’s Festival of Lights.

“The biggest concerning factor was, if the city and the LCRA were going on record as being comfortable with going into January, there was a lot of confusion from the group then, why or why not a January-February timeframe wouldn’t be possible,” Leonard said.

In a memo issued last week, the city said staff will continue evaluating the economic, operational and community considerations of potential future drawdowns and remain engaged with LCRA and Lake Austin stakeholders.

Leonard said property owners now want to know what comes next.

“Everyone is happy that we have clarity now. But everyone is interested in what happens next and where do we go from here,” Leonard said. “Because all of us depend on Lake Austin for our livelihood, we want it safe. We want it clean.”