July 17Jul 17 Lake Buchanan reaches 1020 feet for the first time since 2005 Quote AUSTIN (KXAN) — Lake Buchanan has reached a water level of 1020 feet for the first time since March 2005, an amount that is now considered full, but has not always been the case. This week, the Lake Buchanan flood gates were opened as a result of the devastating floods that hit Central Texas. The dumping of water from the lake has restricted it from reaching 1020 feet, but now that less water is being released, the water level has been allowed to gradually rise to 100% full. Ink Lake just downstream from Buchanan Dam July 14, 2025 This marks the first time that Lake Buchanan has hit the 1020-foot mark since March 2005. The lake, however, was last considered full in 2019 when the water levels reached 1018 feet. This coincides with the last time the flood gates were open at Lake Buchanan, ensuring the water levels did not exceed the maximum level for that time. Lake Buchanan – October 15, 2019 Floods force Buchanan Dam to open flood gates for first time in years An old agreement with FEMA required the Lower Colorado River Authority to maintain a level of at or below 1018 feet mean sea level (msl) during the more flood-prone months of May to October. The LCRA, however, completed a $51.1 million renovation project to Buchanan Dam in 2021 that made for a more efficient floodgate system. The new system also allows the LCRA to respond more quickly to flooding. With this improvement, the LCRA began discussions with FEMA to raise Lake Buchanan to a level of 1020 feet msl. Since then, an agreement was reached as the LCRA now maintains the lake level at or below 1020 feet msl.
July 18Jul 18 Yeah various sources keep saying it's the first time Lake Buch has been "full" since 2005 which isn't correct. This is the first time it hit 1020 but that's because 1018 was considered full in 2019. Anyway, glad to see someone bother to report it correctly. Well done, KXAN. Edited July 18Jul 18 by utee94
July 18Jul 18 They ever just open the gates for a split second to make they still work? 6 years since last open seems like a long time. “Uh, boss, we got a problem. Valve rusted off.” well, try the next one. “Yeah, same problem with that one… and the other 31 of them.”
July 18Jul 18 6 hours ago, UTexasFight said: They ever just open the gates for a split second to make they still work? Lulz. Austin water says hold my beer on this one. Those dipshits couldn’t turn on the emergency back up generator during snowmagedden because it hadn’t been turned on in so long that no one that worked there knew how to do it.
July 18Jul 18 7 hours ago, UTexasFight said: They ever just open the gates for a split second to make they still work? 6 years since last open seems like a long time. “Uh, boss, we got a problem. Valve rusted off.” well, try the next one. “Yeah, same problem with that one… and the other 31 of them.” I'm pretty sure these are new gates they've recently installed during the modernization of Buchanan Dam. This was their initial test.
July 20Jul 20 Hot damn I love me some 675. 84, clouds, and cool breezes at my house right now. At noon, on 7/20. Should probably cross-post this on the kickass things in Austin thread.
July 20Jul 20 On 7/17/2025 at 7:09 PM, utee94 said: This is the first time it hit 1020 but that's because 1018 was considered full in 2019.
July 20Jul 20 11 minutes ago, Post Oak said: What site is this from? I don’t remember but a few of them are picking this up.
July 20Jul 20 What site is this from?Looks like trying to watch scrambled soft core on Skinemax around '92 or so.
July 24Jul 24 The good news, LT continues to hold right at 675.3. Lake Buch still full at 1020.05. The bad news, it's never going to rain again.
July 24Jul 24 So who is the first one to go check out the cliffs at Pace Bend? Need to know if I'm going to get impaled on a newly submerged sycamore.
July 24Jul 24 24 minutes ago, texasdago said: So who is the first one to go check out the cliffs at Pace Bend? Need to know if I'm going to get impaled on a newly submerged sycamore.
July 25Jul 25 On 7/24/2025 at 12:16 PM, texasdago said: So who is the first one to go check out the cliffs at Pace Bend? Need to know if I'm going to get impaled on a newly submerged sycamore. I saw a reel of a dude jumping off paleface recently. ymmv
July 25Jul 25 So Canyon still needs more water, but definitely some good news... So how's the water @Cajun
July 26Jul 26 Been out there the last few days. The water is fine. There's still the odd chunk of debris, but surprisingly little. Clarity is so-so, but with each passing day the CL normal color is coming back. Boat traffic during the week is still very low, which is nice. A little sample... IMG_7161.mov
July 26Jul 26 Where are all the, uh, deckhands? I was led to believe that boat ownership came with certain privileges.
July 26Jul 26 Force field gonna do work late this afternoon. Shows the rain splitting up and going around Austin.
July 28Jul 28 On 7/26/2025 at 8:46 AM, Cajun said: Been out there the last few days. The water is fine. There's still the odd chunk of debris, but surprisingly little. Clarity is so-so, but with each passing day the CL normal color is coming back. Boat traffic during the week is still very low, which is nice. A little sample... IMG_7161.mov Was out there (Canyon) last Thursday, was pretty nice. Did pull up a ton of vegetation with the anchor, nearly lost it to the newly grown fields now underwater. Went to Lake Austin on Sunday, and it was inundated with floating mulch and brown water. Seems to be a bit stagnant.
July 28Jul 28 1 hour ago, PvilleStang said: Was out there (Canyon) last Thursday, was pretty nice. Did pull up a ton of vegetation with the anchor, nearly lost it to the newly grown fields now underwater. Went to Lake Austin on Sunday, and it was inundated with floating mulch and brown water. Seems to be a bit stagnant. We were out there jumping off of a dock into Lake Austin yesterday. The water is still looking browner than usual but hopefully that clears up soon. Was super choppy on Sunday... boat traffic + the wind really kicking up.
July 28Jul 28 Spent the weekend on Lake Travis, water is starting to clear up but there's still a decent amount of debris floating up to the shorelines. In the Sandy Creek arm there are a lot of loose docks that have broken free, some wrecked and partially submerged.
July 28Jul 28 Was it on CL yesterday. It was very nice. Water temp 84F and air temp 89F. Then we got hit by a storm around 4pm and it absolutely poured on us for a good hour. Went back to the slip and ate in the Marina restaurant. Thankfully they've got that open again. Place is called Breakwater Grill I think. Much better food than the old regime. Edited July 28Jul 28 by Cajun
July 28Jul 28 Popular Post On 7/17/2025 at 6:46 PM, LTtxfan said: Lake Buchanan reaches 1020 feet for the first time since 2005 First time since 2005? Edited July 28Jul 28 by Redneck Mutha
August 1Aug 1 The radar is pretty interesting to watch. Intense looking storms just popping up all over the place and not moving at all
August 2Aug 2 9 minutes ago, Updawg said: Pretty good one in 78749 right now You ain't lying. Lightning striking all around us and complete grey out with rain.
August 2Aug 2 We had a microburst come through my neighborhood yesterday. My almost-dead Bradford Pear is now a goner. fell on my wife's car. It's pretty fucked. But it could be worse. A giant-ass Arizona Ash fell on my neighbor's roof. Rain gauge said we got almost 2 inches in about 45 mins.
August 2Aug 2 21 minutes ago, irishtexan said: We had a microburst come through my neighborhood yesterday. My almost-dead Bradford Pear is now a goner. fell on my wife's car. It's pretty fucked. But it could be worse. A giant-ass Arizona Ash fell on my neighbor's roof. Rain gauge said we got almost 2 inches in about 45 mins. My buddy got 2.03” inches in under an hour off of Davis Lane. Got 0.00” in 78746.
August 3Aug 3 We got pounded like South Austin's mom here at Canyon Lake around 5pm yesterday. IMG_7231.mov Edited August 3Aug 3 by Cajun
August 4Aug 4 6 minutes ago, Lazarus Bocanegra said: Mini-train rolling across the highland lakes rn LCRA hydromet nerds awaken! NE of Austin getting some storms too 8:30am CT
August 4Aug 4 Got dumped on at the office (78758). Check hydromet -- 0.0 at the house. Thanks a lot, Obama.
August 4Aug 4 6 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said: Got dumped on at the office (78758). Check hydromet -- 0.0 at the house. Thanks a lot, Obama. Same here.
August 13Aug 13 Looking west/southwest from the arboretum, there is a nice localized microburst that appears to be hitting in just the right spot
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