Highland Lakes news

Fireworks and celebrantions on the Highland Lakes began with the Blue Lake Estates parade and fireworks Saturday, July 1,  and grew to a crescendo Tuesday night July 4.

Also, on Saturday, the annual Flights of Fancy event of the Highland Lakes Flyers model airplane club filled the air above Hank Nilsen Model Aircraft Field (see photos on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2tiwqvB ) and the Miss Aqua Boom Pageant filled the Kingsland Community Center.

Parades went on for family and friends in Spicewood, Meadowlakes and Highland Haven, Bertram, Briggs, Horseshoe Bay and at the Kingsland Aqua Boom. They even took to the water in Horseshoe Bay and Kingland. The grand finale was fireworks in Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay, Briggs, Bertram and Kingsland, with all three shows visible to residents with the right vantage point around the lakes.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Waterfront property owners will begin a flurry of activity Jan. 2 when the drawdown of Lake LBJ promised by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) begins.

Until about Feb. 13, property owners will be able to work on docks and retaining walls, perform dredging, debris removal and other maintenance work. There are limitations on work, including a prohibition against burning debris in the lakebed or dumping dredged material in the lakebed or along the shoreline.

The problems were rife in the City of Granite Shoals during the last lowering of Lake LBJ, in 2008, when parks and, most egregiously, the Granite Shoals Airport became dumping grounds.

In response, Granite Shoals citizens will find dumpsters in a dozen city parks for refuse disposal.

The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has announced it will lower lakes LBJ and Austin for about six weeks in early 2017.

The goal is two-fold: to let property owners repair and maintain docks, retaining walls and shoreline property and help curb growth of nuisance aquatic vegetation such as hydrilla and Eurasian watermilfoil.

“It’s been years since we’ve lowered any of the Highland Lakes,” said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of water. “Property owners need to maintain their boat docks and perform other maintenance, and I’m pleased our water supplies have been replenished enough that a drawdown is possible. Our lakes are nearly full, and conditions in the basin are better than they have been in several years.”

LCRA last lowered Lake LBJ in 2008, Lake Marble Falls in 2009, and lakes Inks and Austin in 2011. No drawdowns occurred in 2012-2016 because of the drought.

Lake LBJ

By Alexandria Randolph

Highland Lakes Newspapers

August was a wet month for the Highland Lakes, and State Climatologists said record-setting rainfall may not be over.

Preliminary totals indicate that August averaged about 5.69 inches of rain statewide, in a tie with 1914 for the wettest August on record, according to figures from the State Climatologist office at Texas A&M University.

John Nielsen-Gammon, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M who also serves as State Climatologist, said the wet month was due to an atmospheric wind pattern that pumped lots of deep, moist tropical air into Texas.

The wet months could continue for a while, he notes.

“September and October are historically among the wettest months of the year in Texas, so if normal conditions continue, we will see several more inches of rain,” he explained.