Dear Friends and Supporters,

Thank you for being part of the Central Texas Water Coalition. Your engagement, advocacy, and continued support are what make this work possible. Together, we are raising awareness, influencing policy, and working to protect the long-term health of our water supply for the communities that depend on it. We want to keep you informed on where things stand and where we need your help.

Drought Conditions & LCRA Water Management Plan Update

Recent reporting confirms what we are seeing firsthand—Central Texas remains in drought conditions, and water systems are under continued stress despite the recent rainfall.

Consider this: even with a notably wet April, Lake Buchanan has risen nearly a foot over the past 30 days, while Lake Travis has increased by only about 0.15 feet. Given current watershed conditions, ongoing demand, and seasonal agricultural use, we are fortunate to be holding steady, but there are no clear signs of meaningful recovery.

These conditions highlight the urgency of advocating for water management practices that reflect today’s realities and provide stronger protections for our communities.

Read the article in Community Impact: Drought Conditions & LCRA Water Management Plan Update

CTWC has been deeply engaged in the development of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Water Management Plan (WMP), the rulebook that governs how our water supply is allocated and managed across the basin.

This plan determines how much water is reserved for firm customers (including communities and businesses) and how much is released for uses such as agricultural irrigation, turf, and waterfowl, and environmental flows.

While the updated plan includes some improvements, it still presents risks to our water supply.

• Rice irrigation will continue to receive substantial allocations for first crop, and second crop reductions were not meaningfully addressed
• Lake storage triggers have been modestly increased, but not enough to prevent rapid reservoir decline during extended drought
• The overall margin of safety remains too thin given today’s conditions

Why CTWC Believes the Plan Must Be Stronger

• The plan is based on assumptions that may not reflect current watershed conditions
• Water flowing into the Highland Lakes is declining, and the plan may not fully account for the changes we have experienced since 2008.
• The plan does not leave enough room for error if conditions worsen
• Upper Lake Travis communities remain vulnerable to loss of water access due to fixed intake locations.

LCRA’s position on this issue is clear:

“LCRA does not guarantee water will be made available at specific elevations in Lakes Buchanan or Travis. It is the customer’s responsibility to access the water as lake levels vary.”

In effect, this shifts the burden onto communities to modify or relocate their water intakes, often at significant cost and, in some cases, with limited or no viable options to chase a declining water supply.

For many of these communities this is not a realistic solution. They were built around long-standing, reliable access to the Highland Lakes – and water that has supported homes, businesses, and local economies for generations.

CTWC believes this approach is not sufficient. A responsible water management plan it should include meaningful safeguards that prioritize reliable access to water for the people and businesses who depend on it every day.

CTWC Advocacy Priorities

LCRA’s proposed WMP is now under review by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). CTWC will continue to advocate for stronger protections for Highland Lakes communities, including:

1. Raise Combined Storage Protections

The current minimum combined storage level of 600,000 acre-feet is too low. At this level, some communities are already at risk of losing access to water

• Implement earlier, system-wide conservation triggers at approximately 750,000 acre-feet
• Raise the minimum protective floor to at least 700,000 acre-feet to protect fixed community intakes

2. Establish Clear Triggers to Reopen the Plan

The WMP should include defined thresholds to revisit and adjust operations as drought conditions worsen—before communities are in crisis.

Action Alert: We Need Your Voice

First, thank you to everyone who submitted comments to LCRA during the public comment period. Your engagement made a difference and demonstrated the strong community support for protecting our water supply.

Now, the process moves to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and public engagement is not over.

When the revised LCRA Water Management Plan permit is opened for public comment, we will notify you immediately.

At that time, we urge you to submit comments to TCEQ calling for stronger protections for our basin, our communities, and our businesses.

When the LCRA Board considered the approval of the updated WMP, two LCRA board members representing down-basin agricultural interests voted against the plan, expressing concern about reduced water availability for agriculture. This underscores the increasing competition for a limited and increasingly strained water supply.

At the same time, our communities rely heavily on Lakes Buchanan and Travis as our primary, and in many cases only, source of drinking water. We do not have a diversified water system. That reality demands a more protective, forward-looking plan that prioritizes essential water needs and long-term sustainability.

We need your voice again. Start preparing your comments now and be ready to act when the TCEQ comment period opens.

Legislative Update: Preparing for the 2027 Session

As we prepare for the upcoming legislative session, CTWC is actively meeting with lawmakers to ensure they understand the growing risks to our regional water supply.

One emerging concern is the rapid expansion of data centers across Texas. The state is on track to become a national leader in data center development—yet there are currently no meaningful regulations governing their water use or impacts on local supplies.

This presents both a growing risk—and a critical opportunity to act.

The upcoming legislative session is critical. We have a window to:

• Establish reserve water supply for our communities
• Prioritize in-basin water needs
• Update water laws to reflect today’s hydrology and demand realities

We encourage you to stay engaged:

• Watch for action alerts and opportunities for public comment
• Reach out to your elected officials
• Share your concerns about protecting our water future

From the Capitol: Data Centers & Water Demand

CTWC recently submitted comments during an interim legislative hearing examining the impact of data centers on Texas water resources.

Out of more than 450 public comments submitted, CTWC’s perspective was included in recent coverage helping bring attention to the need for thoughtful planning around water use, siting, and long-term sustainability as Texas continues to grow.

This is an issue we will continue to engage on as we approach the 2027 legislative session.

Read More: Texas Legislators Examine Data Center Water Use

Current Conditions & Conservation

While El Niño conditions have brought some welcome rainfall, inflows remain below historical levels and demand continues to rise.

We are hopeful for continued rain, but hope is not a strategy and conservation remains essential.

Here’s what you can do to conserve:

• Turn off automatic sprinklers and let rainfall do the work
  • Up to 70% of treated drinking water is used on lawns
• Invest in native and drought-tolerant landscaping
• Explore available rebates and conservation programs through LCRA or your local water provider

Support This Work — Donate Now

The challenges facing our water supply are real, immediate, and growing. CTWC is one of the only organizations solely focused on protecting the Highland Lakes and advocating for the communities that depend on them.

We are currently advancing a critical study on declining inflows and watershed health. This work will directly inform policy, strengthen our advocacy, and help secure stronger protections for our basin.

Your donation today will:

• Support scientific research
• Strengthen advocacy efforts
• Expand education and outreach
• Help protect reliable water access

We cannot do this without you.

Looking Ahead—Get Involved

Protecting our water supply will require informed advocacy, stronger policies, and community-wide participation.

We invite you to:

• Invite CTWC to speak at your HOA, POA, or civic group
• Share this information with your network
• Stay engaged and respond to action alerts

Thank you for your support. It continues to strengthen our impact.

Warm regards,

Shannon Hamilton
Executive Director, CTWC

Our Contact Information:
Central Texas Water Coalition
Central Texas Water Coalition at PO Box 328
Friends of CTWC at PO Box 485
Spicewood, TX 78669
(512) 553-5827

Recognizing Improvements — and Why They’re Still Not Enough

We want to be clear: LCRA has made some improvements to this plan compared to the 2020 version, and we appreciate those efforts. For example:

• The amount of water proposed to be released downstream has been reduced, though it still represents a large volume capable of rapidly depleting the lakes
• Some storage thresholds that allow those releases have been strengthened

These are steps in the right direction. However, they are not enough given today’s risk and what recent history has shown us.

Where the Plan Still Falls Short — and Increases Risk

1. Drinking Water Protections Haven’t Kept Pace with Growth

Even though the region has grown dramatically, LCRA has declined to significantly raise a key minimum combined storage level designed to protect drinking water. More people are relying on the same water supply, yet safeguards remain largely unchanged—increasing the risk of shortages during extended dry periods.

2. Communities in Upper Lake Travis Are Particularly Vulnerable

Many communities rely on fixed water intakes in the upper areas of Lake Travis. If lake levels drop too far, these intakes cannot function, and residents would lose access to drinking water. The plan does not adequately protect these communities, while simultaneously allowing water to be pumped out of the basin through the new Brushy Creek pipeline, placing even more local water supplies at risk.

It should also be noted that current usage restrictions—such as once-per-week watering mandates included in Drought Contingency Plans—may not be followed by those using water delivered through the Brushy Creek pipeline. CTWC believes that any user drawing water from the Highland Lakes must be subject to the same restrictions as everyone else.

3. Dry Years Like 2025 Highlight the Risk

Would you be surprised to learn that 2025 was the driest year since 2011? Without the July flash flood—during which approximately 20 inches of rain fell in just a few days—much of the region would have received only about 6 inches of rain for the entire year.

That single storm masked how dry the year truly was. Since 2008, inflows (the water flowing into our lakes, streams, and tributaries) to the Highland Lakes have declined significantly due to watershed changes, meaning we no longer receive the same benefit from rainfall that we once did. Isolated flash flood events can not and should not be relied upon to replenish the lakes or offset prolonged dry conditions.

The proposed plan does not adequately prepare for extended drought or the sustained low-inflow conditions we have been experiencing for more than a decade. Water planning that relies on floods is simply too risky.

4. Extreme Droughts Could Be Even Worse

The plan relies on historical rainfall and inflow records, but it does not fully account for extreme historic droughts, such as the 1950s drought, which was significantly worse than the 2008–2015 drought. CTWC research shows that under current watershed and population conditions, a repeat of the 1950s drought would pose far greater risks to our lakes, drinking water, and communities than the plan anticipates.

The proliferation of more than 44,000 small, unmonitored ponds throughout the watershed has significantly reduced inflows, making recovery increasingly dependent on flood-like conditions.

5. No Clear Safety Measures if Conditions Worsen

Given growing drought risk—including reduced rainfall, lower inflows, and continued regional growth—the plan should include a clear commitment to reopen and revise it if assumptions prove wrong or conditions deteriorate. This essential risk-management safeguard is currently missing and is a critical part of water planning.

6. All Water Is Already Contracted — No Reserve for Residents

All available water under the plan is already contracted (sold), except for a meager board reserve that is not guaranteed. Despite continued population growth in Central Texas, there are no immediate plans to bring significant new water supplies to the region, leaving residents and businesses with no meaningful water reserve.

Meanwhile, as lake levels decline under the proposed plan, rice farmers alone could receive up to 200,000 acre-feet per year until cutoff triggers are reached—allowing continued rapid depletion of the lakes and once again placing community water supplies at significant risk.

The LCRA Board will vote on the plan on February 18, so submitting comments now ensures your voice is heard before the plan is finalized. You are also welcomed to join us to make public comments at that meeting. More details to come once they release the agenda for that meeting. 

Thank you for standing up for our shared water future at a moment when the risks are already clear. Because water released from our lakes cannot be recovered, the decisions being made now will shape the security of our communities for years to come.

With gratitude,
Shannon Hamilton
Executive Director, CTWC
shannon.hamilton.ctwc@gmail.com

Click here to learn more about CTWC and donate to help preserve and protect the Highland Lakes.

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Our Contact Information:
Central Texas Water Coalition
Central Texas Water Coalition at PO Box 328
Friends of CTWC at PO Box 485
Spicewood, TX 78669
(512) 553-5827