Posted: Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:46 AM - 7,808 Readers

By: Katherine Stolp

For the first time in nearly 30 years of business, a restaurant on Lake Travis must temporarily close due to low lake levels. We first told you about the possibility of Johnny Fins, a floating restaurant on Lake, closing about two weeks ago.

Johnny Fins may try to move the entire restaurant to a different part of the lake with more water. Officials with the Lower Colorado River Authority said this is the first business casualty they've seen because of low lake levels and it probably won't be the last.

It’s a desolate, practically deserted scene at Johnny Fins. Instead of live music and boats rumbling through, we only saw a few teens fishing on a styrofoam block left over from a dried up dock.

“There’s just been no rain,” said Mike Odom who’s lived in a house boat for nearly a year. “It’s just dropping faster and faster.”

Odom had to move his home from the marina at Johnny Fins with about 300 other boats and had to say goodbye, for now, to one of his favorite restaurants.

“It was sad,” he said. “Johnny Fins brought a lot to this community in terms of music and a place to go.”

“This is a more serious drought than what we’ve seen in a while,” said Krista Umsheid-Ramirez with LCRA. She told us we need 12- 15 inches of rain in the Hill Country to get back to normal lake levels, and that just doesn’t look likely in the near future.

“Probably by next week, we’ll be looking at lake levels we haven’t seen since 1985,” Umsheid-Ramirez said.

LCRA is asking everyone to conserve water and by next year they may limit the amount of water sold to farmers downstream. But until then, everyone is hoping for rain.

“Everybody is like we need a rain dance, rain dance,” Odom said. “All we’ve been really wanting is rain.”

And if it doesn’t come, Johnny Fins will find a way to stay open, by moving to a different location. Odom told us he’ll follow no matter what.

“We’ll just put wheels on the bottom of the house boat and live on the bottom of the lake,” Odom said with a smile.

The lake is now more than 28 feet below normal. The LCRA said from a recreation standpoint, it’s not getting any better. It may have to close this boat ramp at Mansfield Dam, the last one open on Lake Travis, by next week.

LCRA said there is some good news. They told us we have enough water supply in Lake Buchanan and Travis to meet water needs throughout the year.

*  Story Contributed by: Katherine Stolp