{"id":377614,"date":"2026-07-18T03:29:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T03:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/377614\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T03:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T03:29:13","slug":"lake-travis-undergoes-dramatic-changes-as-it-nears-full-capacity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/377614\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Travis undergoes dramatic changes as it nears full capacity"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAKE TRAVIS, Texas \u2014 The immediate threat from this week’s heavy rains and flooding is moving downstream on Friday as floodwaters pour into the Highland Lakes.<\/p>\n

Lake Travis has risen dramatically and is expected to reach full pool for the first time since July 2019. As of Friday afternoon, the lake stood at about 679 feet above mean sea level, just a couple of feet below its full capacity of 681 feet.<\/p>\n

The dramatic rise is already changing the landscape around the lake. Sandbars have disappeared beneath the water, and “Sometimes Island,” a popular landmark that appears when lake levels are low, is once again underwater.<\/p>\n

At Dive World Austin’s summer scuba camp, students watched those changes happen almost overnight.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t expect it to change as much as it did,” said 12-year-old scuba student Kaylee Lindsey. “Seeing the changes is shocking, to me at least. It just surprised me that it could change so fast.”<\/p>\n

Lindsey said the higher water has also changed what divers see beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

“I think the reflection of the light, especially underwater, is a lot prettier than it would be if it was lower,” she said.<\/p>\n

ALSO| Flood surge expected on Llano River after heavy rain<\/a><\/p>\n

KEYE<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Scuba instructor Carl Balzen, a lifelong Austin resident, has watched Lake Travis go through years of drought and flooding.<\/p>\n

“I’m a lifetime Austinite, so I’ve seen ups and downs, and I like the lake full a lot better than I do really low,” Balzen said.<\/p>\n

He says the higher water levels will improve access to the lake for both divers and boaters and make Lake Travis safer.<\/p>\n

“The increased water is going to make it safer for boaters and more fun for us divers,” Balzen said. “Now we have more access to different dive areas and easier entries into and out of the water.”<\/p>\n

The rising lake is the result of floodwaters flowing into the Highland Lakes after repeated rounds of heavy rain across the Hill Country this week. While rainfall has largely ended, potentially dangerous river flooding could continue downstream.<\/p>\n

The Lower Colorado River Authority is continuing floodgate operations at Wirtz Dam and Max Starcke Dam as water moves through the Highland Lakes chain. If Lake Travis rises above 681 feet and enters its flood pool, the LCRA could begin releasing water through Mansfield Dam, sending additional water into Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake.<\/p>\n

Officials continue to urge people to stay away from flooded rivers and low-water crossings, even as conditions begin improving across much of Central Texas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAKE TRAVIS, Texas \u2014 The immediate threat from this week’s heavy rains and flooding is moving downstream on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377615,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-377614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}