Real scoop on the lakes (Austin, Georgetown: appointed, construction, tax)

[orionid]

Lake Austin & Lake Travis look great from the web, but some nagging questions remain ... can the experienced among you please comment on:

1) Water quality (cleanliness, smell, taste)
2) Crowds (can you launch a boat easily and actually swim & ski?)
3) Creatures (bugs, snakes ... my wife has a friend who says that water moccasins hang from trees and fall into your boat to wreak havoc ... sounds like a bad movie )
4) Experience (are they nice to swim in? ski in? nice temperature? too much seaweed? etc.)

Basically, everyone in CA talks about the beaches and ocean here, and Baywatch makes it look very nice, but when you get here, you find that the beaches are pretty dirty and stamped down, the water is very cold, and in many areas the water is polluted due to sewage. I want to get the non-chamber-of-commerce view of the Austin lakes please. Thanks!

[caendaniels]

The lakes are on a river, is is clean. Lakes have snakes river not so much. I have seen them in the water near "snake habitat". These lakes are easy to access when lake levels are appropriate. They are however not constant level lakes. They rise and fall with the weather conditions. Lower lake levels = more people less area. Lake Lyndon B. Johnson is a constant level lake, that comes before both of these on the river. It is very nice. I am not sure they are calling Travis and Austin lakes anymore.

[orionid]

Thanks caendaniels for your reply.

The small number of responses now has me concerned in a different way. Do people on this forum not go on or in the lakes very much? If not, why not?

The lakes would be one of the main reasons we would relocate from SoCal, since we love skiing and tubing but lakes out here are SO crowded.

[yolo]

I'm in the same boat so to speak. I want to relocate partially because of the numerous lakes near Austin. I have noticed that the lakes are very rocky with not much beach type shoreline. Lake Austin seems like it has no shoreline. Can some locals comment on the area lakes like Georgetown Lake, Canyon Lake, Lake Travis, Lake Austin, Lake LBJ as far as jet skiing, boating, swimming and beaches?

[southaustingal]

I don't live on the lakes, never have and don't want to, but plenty of people sail and ski in the lakes. There isn't much beachfront, and what is there isn't sandy beach but grassy shore. Town Lake does not allow swimming, and I wouldn't eat anything I fished outta there, but I do see people fishing in those waters. The Highland Lakes are much more popular as fishing lakes.

I think your main concern should be water, period. Check out the Lower Colorado River Authority's press releases on the drought at lcra dot org. Scary stuff.

[lindaluck]

Lake Travis is at historic lows. See the "Water Conservation" thread.

[Trainwreck20]

You probably did not get much response since most of the regulars on here are 'city' folk, or at least work in the city . Anyway, although Lake Travis is close to Austin and supports its share of commuters, it is kind of a different world out on the lake. Most of the people that live on Lake Austin are in a different tax bracket than the majority of the posters on here, I think .

Anyway, a brief (I hope) explanation. The 'highland lakes', as they are collectively referred to, were originally constructed to manage flooding, and are currently used for water storage, as well. These lakes are considered part of the 'chain', with one flowing into the next:

• Lake Buchanan - Variable level (I think), 23,000 acres
• Inks Lake - Constant level, 800 acres
• Lake LBJ - Almost constant, 6,375 acres
• Lake Marble Falls - Constant level, 780 acres
• Lake Travis - Highly variable, 18,900 acres
• Lake Austin - Constant level, 1,800 acres

Town Lake is not actually part of the 'highland lakes'.

Water quality - Travis is considered to have very good water quality, but has also been listed as 'endangerd' quality due to construction/development in the area. This water eventually becomes part of the Austin drinking water supply. That said, it IS lake water. The top 10 feet or so get really warm in the summer and support various algae or other organisms (I am no biologist ), and this results in fairly low 'surface visibility, sometimes. The lake is one of the top scuba diving destinations among lakes in the US, though (think there were around 30,000/year, last I saw). This is due to the clarity of the water below this first thermocline. I have done my share of diving out there, and there is some very good visiblity at depth.

Lake Austin is the cold water off the bottom of lake Travis and appears very clear to the naked eye. Due to the temperature, I suppose, there is less alage here. Also, the flow through this lake is almost like a river sometimes, and that keeps it looking clean.

Access/Recreation - Lake Travis is pretty darn huge, so there is plenty of room on the lake most of the time. Access, in my limited experience, is fairly easy. Of course, holidays are another matter, and the 'prime' skiing locations will get crowded.

Lake Austin is very popular for skiing, even with the cold temperatures, but I think access may be a little more bottlenecked at peak times, and the total area of the lake is much narrower. You are definitely restricted to a 'keep right' and circle the lake pattern here.

Gotta go to lunch, will try to answer other questions later

[Trainwreck20]

Creatures - Lake travis has its share of creatures. I would not worry about any of them, except maybe the mocasins. The mocasins will be much more common in shallow, brushy bank areas, as opposed to the rocky shore common to most of the lake. These brushy (or muddy) areas tend to be a the back of some of the coves where creeks come in. Anyway, the more popular areas will have next to no snakes, since snakes tend to dislike all the hubbub. The falling into your boat has happened, I am sure, but from what I have been told, the snake is startled by the boat and is trying to drop into the water to get away. Just don't boat around under low brush by the bank .

Lake Austin is so cold that there are probably no snakes. Turtles and ducks will be your most common encounter, I expect.

Experience - Lake Travis will hit the upper 80s in the summer, which would be too warm to swim in, except the air will be in the 100s . There are several areas that are popular swimming spots with fairly rocky bottoms or access (my wife hates muddy/weedy areas); however, most areas do have some muddy bottom sections. Several designated swimming areas are bouyed off for safety and there are some nice little parks up and down the length of the lake, with various levels of 'refinement'. Skiing is possible here, but Travis seems to be more popular with the jet ski and sail boat crowds. I am not a skiier, but it may have to do with how rough the lake can be.

Lake Austin is very cool (too cold for my taste), but many people do swim here. This is a very popular skiing lake, even though it is narrow. It rarely gets very rough and there are typically very few jet skis or sailboats to contend with.

[orionid]

What an awesome post Trainwreck; thanks VERY much.

[brattpowered]

Lake Austin is a lake by Texas standards, but people in the rest of the country would consider it a medium-width river. It is a dammed up section of the Colorado river that goes through town. It is a good temperature for swimming, if you like to swim in milfoil (an invasive weed that grows almost as high as the water).

Lake Travis used to be good, but because of the drought it has dried up a lot and there are new "islands" popping up every day where there used to be water. I would imagine the crowds are pretty thin since there is really no draw to it anymore. There is now only one boat ramp on the entire lake that doesn't end hanging in the air above the lake, so it may take a while to get out on a boat.

I don't have any info on the rest of the lakes, since they are quite a ways out of town. One of the reasons I came to Austin was the water recreation. You will be as disappointed as I was.