Hidden Pecan Grove Revealed in Lake Travis as Water Level Falls

Hazards are being exposed at Lake Travis in Texas as the water level continues to fall.

A widespread, years-long drought has parched many lakes, rivers and reservoirs in the U.S. Southwest and West. A wet winter on the West Coast helped water levels recover, and the heavy snowpack melt continues to replenish many of the lakes, including Lake Powell (in Arizona and Utah) and Lake Mead (in Nevada and Arizona), which both have seen a steady increase in the water level.

In central Texas, the Lake Travis water level continues to fall, exposing items beneath the lake's surface, including a concrete plant, houses, docks and a pecan grove where the trees stand as high as 100 feet.

Some of those trees are now poking through the water's surface, posing danger to boats and their occupants.

As a man-made reservoir, everything that occupied the land before it was a lake remains. When Mansfield Dam was built in 1941, the resulting flooding formed Lake Travis, submerging everything, including trees. Full pool at the lake is 681 feet, but as of July 5, the level was at 637 feet. The current level is below last year's and the 2021 level on the same day. On July 5, 2022, the level was at 650 feet and on the same day in 2021, it was 666.

Recently, the Mansfield Dam Park boat ramp was closed because of the low water level. Even when a boat can find a safe place to launch, boaters can encounter the dangers that are exposing themselves along the lake's surface, such as the pecan trees, Travis County Sheriff's Office Senior Public Information Officer Kristen Dark told Newsweek.

"There were pecan orchards in that canyon, so there are fully grown pecan tree groves under the surface of the water," Dark said. "As Lake Travis starts to recede and we go through a drought and water levels go down, these hazards are closer to the surface of the water."

Dark said people who frequently boat on Lake Travis are familiar with the hazards, but she stressed that boaters need to remain "very diligent" and aware as receding water levels expose rocky areas and trees.

The Travis County Sheriff's Office patrols the lake, and Dark said the agency responds to boat distress calls. Sometimes those calls are from a boater hitting one of the hazards.

Severe drought and plummeting water levels have caused experts and citizens to take a closer look at the issues plaguing bodies of water. Drought and heat both contribute, causing the lakes to evaporate without being replenished, but overuse also is an issue that threatens to continue impeding water levels even if the drought were to end.

The issue of overuse is especially pertinent for Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which are fed by the Colorado River. Despite above-average precipitation and snowpack melt, Newsweek previously reported that the only way the lakes will fully recover is if people reduce their use.

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dale Mohler told Newsweek that although the Lake Travis level temporarily saw an increase in May and June, it is now steadily declining. However, the level could have some recovery in its future.

Mohler said that the "majority of months" between September and January will have normal or above-average rainfall, although the Lake Travis level may fall further before that time.