Low lake levels may affect July 4 plans

AUSTIN (KXAN/AP) - July 4 holiday plans could be affected because only a few public boat ramps on popular Lake Travis are open due to increasingly low water levels.

The Lower Colorado River Authority in Austin said Lake Travis water levels are dropping nearly 2 feet a week.

While a Jonestown boat ramp site remains open, LCRA spokeswoman Krista Umscheid-Ramirez said in the next week that boat ramp likely will be unusable as well.

The Travis County Web site said Thursday that two of the boat ramps at Mansfield Dam Park are closed and that boat launching will take at least an hour. It also listed that the lake levels are about 25 feet below the historic June average.

The LCRA warned that extreme- to exceptional drought conditions remain.

As the drought drags on, the bottom of Lake Travis begins to meet the top, creating obstacles for people in the water- especially those traveling at top speeds.