Water Use Summary

 

​LCRA compiles water use information for the lower Colorado River basin in the annual Water Use Summary.

In 2022, the lower Colorado River basin saw continued drought conditions, with generally hotter- and drier-than-average weather thanks to a persistent and long-running La Niña weather pattern. The year was the seventh driest on record across the Hill Country, and the 13th driest for all of Texas. Summer 2022 was the second hottest on record, behind 2011.

Brief stretches of heavy rain in late August and November helped bring some drought improvement to parts of the area, but parched soils in the Hill Country soaked up most of the rainfall, resulting in limited runoff into the Highland Lakes. Monthly inflows were below historical averages each month throughout the year, and 2022 inflows into lakes Buchanan and Travis were the lowest on record.

In summer 2022, LCRA’s state-approved Water Management Plan required it to cut off Highland Lakes water to agricultural customers in the Gulf Coast, Lakeside and Pierce Ranch operations for the second growing season. The determination was based on the intensity and duration of the drought and the amount of water in lakes Buchanan and Travis on July 1.

Total water use from the Highland Lakes and lower Colorado River increased from 2021 to 2022. Water use from the Highland Lakes increased by 103%, with increases for all types of use. Diversions of water originating from the lower Colorado River decreased by 45% from 2021 to 2022.

Water Rights

2022 Use (in acre-feet)

LCRA Garwood* 89,687
LCRA and South Texas Project* 9,955
LCRA Lakeside* 824
LCRA Gulf Coast* 22,853
LCRA Pierce Ranch* 1,138
LCRA Lakes Buchanan and Travis 429,314
SUBTOTAL – LCRA 553,771
City of Austin Water Rights* 70,799
Bastrop Energy Partners, LP* 180
SUBTOTAL – Other 70,979
TOTAL 624,750
*Water use from the Colorado River was 195,436 acre-feet.

Water use by source – LCRA uses two basic sources of water to meet customer and environmental needs: water stored in lakes Buchanan and Travis and water naturally flowing in the Colorado River. When the natural flow into the Highland Lakes is greater than customer needs and environmental obligations, LCRA stores the excess in lakes Buchanan and Travis for later use.

Highland Lakes water use – Contracts for water stored in lakes Buchanan and Travis can be for firm or interruptible supply. LCRA also supplies water from the Highland Lakes to help maintain environmental flows, as required by the state-approved Water Management Plan. In 2022, the Highland Lakes supplied 429,314 acre-feet of water for all uses.

Firm water contracts – These contracts supply cities, businesses and industries that need a reliable long-term water supply. Firm supply is available through a repeat of the driest conditions the region has experienced. Firm customers used 228,591 acre-feet, or about 53% of all water used from the Highland Lakes, in 2022. This includes 108 acre-feet used in hydroelectric generation to meet emergency needs for electricity.
Interruptible water contracts – These contracts supply agricultural customers. Interruptible water is subject to cutbacks during drought conditions, and its availability was curtailed for the second season in 2022 because of the drought. Interruptible customers used 160,213 acre-feet, or about 37% of all water used from the Highland Lakes, in 2022.
Environmental – From time to time, LCRA releases water from the Highland Lakes to meet environmental flow requirements for the Colorado River downstream of Austin and for Matagorda Bay. In 2022, LCRA released 40,510 acre-feet, or about 10% of water released from the Highland Lakes, for environmental flows.
Colorado River water use – In addition to the rights to water from the Highland Lakes, LCRA owns and manages other rights to the natural flow of the Colorado River. In 2022, a total of 124,457 acre-feet of water was supplied from the Colorado River for agricultural, municipal, industrial, recreation and firm irrigation uses under these water rights.

How does 2022 compare?

Type of water use* 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Municipal (firm  customers) 225,861 234,648 251,970 249,011 266,848
Water from the Highland Lakes 133,517 112,701 144,531 118,821 198,971
Water from the Colorado River† 92,344 121,947 107,439 130,190 67,877
Industrial (firm  customers) 80,580 57,030 50,343 113,594 51,790
Water from the Highland Lakes 24,433 9,157 18,593 12,390 22,722
Water from the Colorado River† 56,147 47,873 31,750 101,204 29,068
Recreational and Irrigation (firm  customers) 6,760 7,013 7,568 4,204 6,898
Water from the Highland Lakes 6,667 6,766 7,413 4,204 6,898
Water from the Colorado River 93 247 155 0 0
Agricultural (interruptible  customers) 289,665 219,467 247,573 171,900 258,704
Water from the Highland Lakes 136,490 27,319 84,472 45,109 160,213
Water from the Colorado River 153,175 192,148 163,101 126,791 98,491
Environmental‡
(from the Highland Lakes)
55,923 61,954 115,586 31,317 40,510
TOTAL WATER USE 658,789 580,112 673,040 570,026 624,750
*Water use is in acre-feet.
Reported use includes water under water rights held by the City of Austin and Bastrop Energy Partners, LP and jointly by South Texas Project and LCRA.
Environmental releases are made to meet environmental requirements set out in the LCRA Water Management Plan. Releases for downstream customers and runoff flowing into the river and bay also help satisfy environmental needs.