Lake Travis water levels prompt businesses to adapt

LAKE TRAVIS, Texas - The recent wet weather is helping the water levels at Lake Travis, but that comes after a dry summer and one business says it’s had to get creative with its operations in response.

"The low water impacts the lake economy massively," said Stephen Scherer, operator of Windy Point Park.

For staff at Windy Point Park along Lake Travis, they follow the lake levels closely. The 12-acre campground offers scuba diving, wind surfing, stand up paddle boarding and more.

"It's a great escape. And we've got tons of room. That is, you know, abutting 1000 foot of shoreline. So, it's just, a really, beautiful, serene place," said Scherer.

But Scherer says the dry summer has impacted them.

"The low lake levels have really, you know, curtailed some of the business," Scherer said.

According to the Lower Colorado River Authority, historically the September average for Lake Travis is around 662 feet. As of last check, Lake Travis is at almost 643 feet.

But the good news, is that it’s up around two to three feet from the week prior.

"We want to see that since the lake levels aren't where they should be. Lake Travis at this point is around 50% full, so there's a lot more water that it could use that would make it a lot better. So, we like to see more rain coming in. This is a good thing, but there's still a long way to go," said FOX 7 meteorologist Leslie London.

Kayaking is something Scherer says his business is unable to offer because of the water being so low.

As for the scuba divers, one diver told us she’s noticed a big difference.

"When I got certified back in 2017, it was just like, I don't know, like a few stairs you had to climb down in order to get in the water. Now it's like there's like, I don't know, like 80 stairs that you have to climb down. They had to add more stairs so that we could get lower. Because you're going down with all of this gear," said diver Rebecca Ator.

Sherrer says his team has learned to adapt to the changing climate.

It offers stand up paddle boarding as a replacement for kayaking and replaced its shallow cove swim area with a miniature play area for children.  He says the few feet of water the lake just got makes all the difference.

"The entire lake has a silt layer. And for about two months, the water was sitting at that silt layer which clouds up the water. This recent rain has gotten us above that silt layer. So now the waters are back to their pretty blue," said Scherer.

Sheerer says seasonal business like his really rely on support from the community.

"Support your lake businesses, whether that's a restaurant, whether that's a park. You know, it's very important. We depend on, we depend on the public to come out and check us out and try us out. And that goes for, you know, all the, the lake recreation places," Scherer said.

Headed into the fall there could be some good news on the horizon.

"There's the amount of accumulation we typically get on average once we get into fall increases compared to summer. So that's a good sign. That's something we want to see because like I said, we want more rain. So that's a good thing," said London.

You can find more on the fun happening at Windy Point Park here.