AUSTIN (KXAN) — The push to lower water levels in Lake Austin continues as shareholders plan to meet with Austin city officials next week. Business owners and residents said lowering the water level would help stop the spread of an invasive plant that poses a danger to swimmers and boaters.
On Friday, Eric Moreland with the Friends of Lake Austin She posted a video on social media Announcement of a general meeting held by the city. The meeting is scheduled to take place via Zoom on November 18 at 6:30 p.m
“At the meeting, we will update you on hydrilla and sterile grass carp stocking as well as the potential for the lake level to drop in 2026.” Statement read on the meeting invitation.
During the summer, hydrilla blooms spread across the lake. In June, a survey found that only 5% of the lake contained hydrilla. By late summer, a new study found that hydrilla had spread to 38%.
A similar level of hydrilla in the early 2000s led to a movement to remove hydrilla, which Friends of Lake Austin said could entangle boaters and swimmers.
This fall, the group began pushing to withdraw the lake several feet. They cited studies that said towing could help eliminate hydrilla. The city argued otherwise, with studies that found the withdrawal having no effect.
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has received final approval to draw down the lake, but that may not be possible, the city said. LCRA told KXAN that after winter storms, all Texas hydropower operations have to operate at maximum capacity during the winter months. This means that withdrawal will not be possible until after the winter.
The city must submit a formal request to withdraw. Homeowners and business owners, like Moreland, point out that pulling out would not only allow the group to remove the hydrilla, but also make much-needed repairs to the sidewalks.
The city released 1,955 sterile grass carp into Lake Austin on Wednesday, November 5. This is in addition to 350 sterile grass carp released last summer, bringing the total to 2,300. Grass carp feed on hydrilla as their primary food source.
“What the studies have shown is that as long as there are hydrilla plants, they will kind of concentrate on that resource, allowing other plants to persist and thrive,” said Dr. Brent Bellinger, conservation program supervisor for the city’s Watershed Protection Department.