Visitors, businesses welcome higher water levels

• Eric Bullard loaded his equipment May 15 to prepare to head home after spending the day on Lake Buchanan. He welcomed the rise in lake levels but found the water murky and choppy. Connie Swinney/The Highlander
• The Vanishing Texas River Cruise, seen here May 15, on Lake Buchanan still offers tours which are shorter because he can not make it up the Colorado River as far due to the dwindling water levels. Visit vtrc.com. Connie Swinney/The Highlander
• Michael 'Capt. Shawn' Devaney of Vanishing Texas River Cruise cleaned and maintained his cruise boats May 15. Connie Swinney/The Highlander

Eric Bullard traveled from Killeen May 15 to visit and fish on Lake Buchanan – just after a swell of several days of stormwater deposited into the waterway.

He put in at the Burnet County Park public boat ramp, just off FM 2341 on the east side of waterway about mid-lake.

“Two or three weeks ago, the trees were more visible from the water level,” he said. “Even though they’re not as visible, they’re still a potential hazard because they’re right below the water level.”

He said he typically makes the trip twice a week.

“I was able to get to a lot more places than I’ve been before,” he added, saying he found the water higher about 5-6 feet in places. “I’m used to the lake being so low, so the landmarks are different.”

'I will say the cycles have gotten more extreme in the last 10 to 20 years.'

— Michael 'Capt. Shawn' Devaney Vanishing Texas River Cruise A few miles farther north of the boat ramp, the lake appeared muddy and full of debris around the tourist venue called the Texas Vanishing River Cruise, 443 Waterway Lane.

Michael “Capt. Shawn” Devaney, owner of the business on Lake Buchanan, spent the day May 15 maintaining and cleaning river boats.

“We got a nice 7-8 foot rise in water which is very nice compared to where we were,” Devaney said. “About another 6-foot rise would make the river more accessible to everybody, myself included.”

The river cruise feature relies on visitors, who not only pay for trips miles up and around Lake Buchanan and the Colorado River, but who stay and spend money in nearby communities.

He continues his boat tours but conditions keep the ride shorter than he likes.

“We can’t travel in areas that we like to travel in. We like to travel in the water falls, the canyons, see the wildlife,” he said. “It’s been inaccessible.”

Devaney added that some folks may find a false sense of comfort from recent rain.

“We’re up about 8 feet but the problem is now that Lake Travis didn’t get that much rain,” he said. “This level we have is at best temporary. By mid July it’s going to be gone. By September, we’re going to be back where we were.”

Businesses on the lake will continue to brace for less than ideal conditions.

“I’ve been here for 44 years. I’m good, but a lot of people that have just got into business, who have loans … to make those payments is tough,” Devaney said.

Dwindling inflows and intermittent storms combine to create a potentially more severe issue in the future.

“I was seriously concerned before this. I knew if we went into summer like we were, we would be in really bad shape – probably the worst we’ve ever seen,” he said. “People, growth, development, rice farming is a big part of it.”

As he continues living and working on Lake Buchanan, he’s resigned to accept what he has witnessed for several decades.

“It’s part of the cycle. I’ve been through drought, out of drought,” he said. “I will say the cycles have gotten more extreme in the last 10 to 20 years.

“Typically, a drought would last a year to two years. The one before was five year. This one, we’re going on three years now,” he added.

In the meantime, local residents and visitors like Bullard will make the most of the improvement in the lake level.

“It’s a lot easier traversing to different area,” Bullard said. “The water was really choppy and the visibility is really bad until you get to the dam level.

“We got the water level up. That’s pretty ideal. Once the murkiness settles down from all the land wash (runoff), it will be great again.”