HIGHLAND LAKES — This week’s rainfall will help raise one of our region’s two water-supply reservoirs above its average elevation. As of today, this week’s rains have added to lakes Buchanan and Travis a combined total of 33,000 acre-feet of water - roughly enough to supply the City of Austin with water for two to three months.

Over the next several days, Lake Travis is expected to rise two to three feet to around 673 feet above mean sea level (msl), which would put the lake more than two feet above its average elevation for May. The last time the elevation of Lake Travis was above 670 feet msl was September 2005.

Lake Buchanan is expected to rise two to three feet to around 1,006 feet msl, which would still be about eight feet below the lake’s average elevation for May. Lake Buchanan’s watershed has not received as much runoff from the rains that have fallen this year and helped raise Lake Travis.

Above the Highland Lakes, river levels on the Colorado River and its tributaries will remain elevated for the next several days, but are expected to remain well below their flood stages. No floodgate operations on the Highland Lakes are anticipated at this time.

Downstream of Austin, the river is elevated due to earlier storms; however, river levels are expected to remain below their flood stages.

Meanwhile, LCRA reminds people that while swimming in lakes and streams always carries a risk, higher bacteria levels usually follow heavy rain runoff events. Those higher levels typically return to normal in about a week to 10 days from the time of the peak runoff into the waterways.

For more information, visit LCRA’s Daily River Report or for updated recorded information, call (512) 473-3200.