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Water flow hits ‘lowest' levels in 100 years in Hill Country rivers feeding Canyon Lake
COMAL COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Despite rain in recent weeks, water supplies in the Texas Hill Country are in a tight spot. Last month, the Edwards Aquifer briefly moved to stage five drought restrictions after water levels dropped 33 feet below average in one well.
The declaration comes ahead of what is expected to be a hotter and drier than normal summer.
At Canyon Lake in Comal County, things are looking rough.
'The total flow over the last five years is the lowest river levels we've seen in the Hill Country since record keeping began over 100 years ago,' said Charlie Hickman, executive manager of engineering with the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority.
Recent rain filled Canyon Lake two to three inches. The lake is currently 45% full. Water from the lake is used by cities along the I-35 corridor, including San Marcos, Buda and Kyle.
'We've actually only seen the flows get up high enough to get into a mode where you can refill the lake 34 days only since 2022,' Hickman said. In that same time period, no water had flowed into the lake for 260 days.
'If you have these declining inflows, you know that's not just a measure of meteorological drought, but also what we're seeing underground,' said Marisa Bruno, water program manager with the Hill Country Alliance.
She said many of the streams that feed Canyon Lake are spring fed. Even when we do see rain, the soil is too dry for that water to reach the aquifers that feed these springs.
'We need to get into a period where we have, you know, well above average rainfall for a longer period of time to get some relief from the drought,' Hickman said.
While the Highland Lakes get their water from streams and rivers near Fredericksburg, Canyon Lake relies on watersheds closer to Kerrville.
'We've been making minimum releases for water supply for a few years now, and unless we get some relief and see the the lake refill, that's the same type of release as we anticipate making this summer,' Hickman said.
Hickman said that with the current water in the lake, they are in a good place to endure this summer and potentially another drought.
Canyon Lake is not the only lake dealing with the drought. Lake Buchanan is 11 feet below the average, while Lake Travis is 31 feet below average.
Lake Buchanan is around 60% full, while Lake Travis is 44% full.
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