Posted: Mon, 3 Aug 2009 10:44 AM - 10,882 Readers
By: Karina Kling
Pour some water on the Pedernales River because it's nearly empty.
The river feeds into the upper reaches of Lake Travis, but no water's flowing right now.
"Hopefully one of these days we'll have water again," homeowner Randy Simpson said.
Twenty-one years ago, Simpson thought he was buying a home overlooking the water.
"This is the first year where we don't even have a trickle of water coming down the river,'" Simpson said.
Instead, he's now got a great view of a valley.
"It's been totally dry now for probably two to three weeks," he said.
Boat houses and docks sit grounded along the dried up Pedernales River.
There's a few pockets of water, but the view off State Highway 71 northwest of Bee Cave isn't a running river -- it's more of a sand
pit.
"When I came up here, I had no idea the Pedernales dried up
like this," Simpson said.
David Bennett works for the Westcave Preserve located next to the Pedernales River in southwestern Travis County.
"This water is going into the Colorado [River], Lake Travis, and that's when it gets really important," Bennett said.
He also monitors the river's levels for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA).
"In the 50s, this river flooded and it was 70 feet over that bridge and Lake Travis, in one day, rose 58 feet," Bennett said. "So this [Pedernales River] is a big player."
It's a big player for people needing the water, or those like Simpson who remain hopeful the river will run again for him to enjoy his view.
Lake Travis is about 30 feet below average level for this time of year.
The lake was nearly that low in 1984.
Officials said if the Pedernales River receives five- to six inches of rain over a 12-hour period, levels would rise significantly.
