Disappearing Lake

Inks Lake State Park is located on one of the Highland Lakes of Central Texas.  There are seven lakes formed by a series of dams along the Colorado River.  Five of the lakes are kept at a constant level, while the two largest are used for flood control and irrigation and are highly variable.

Inks Lake is very small but constant at 831 acres. It sits just below Lake Buchanan which is the largest at 22,333 acres, when full. But Lake Buchanan is suffering badly in the drought and is a long way from full.

Teri and I decided to take a drive around Lake Buchanan as it has historically hosted some good waterfowl. We were shocked however to see how low it was and how far away the water was from some "favorite" birding spots.

Our first stop was at Black Rock Park which has a group of cabins that are supposed to sit right at the waters edge. Here I am on a cabin porch and that water is a long ways away!

The boat launch area hadn't seen any water for quite some time.

For owners of lakefront property, it looks like a good time to work on their docks. Easy access!

As we drove on around the lake, each park and boat ramp we encountered looked the same.  The image below is a boat launching ramp that has been extended several times, until there simply wasn't anything to extend it to.

Knowing Texas weather, we'll get a hurricane or some other significant weather event and this lake will be refilled in just a few weeks. But until then, it surely is a sad sight. 

Mark