Posted: Mon, 14 Mar 2016 08:37 AM - 32,490 Readers

By: Nicole Rosales

Lake Travis is almost 100 percent full for the first time since 2010.

KVUE''s meteorologist Jared Plushnick said Lake Travis is 98 percent full. Currently, the lake is sitting as 679 feet.

Boater Jim Pilotto lives at Emerald Point, near the lake. He said he's seen the changes to the lake happen over the past few years.

"A dirt road coming through here and the parking lot for this dock and several others was out here three-fourths out on the lake," Pilotto said.

The drought forced nearly a dozen boat ramps to temporarily shut down. 2010 was one of the lowest water levels in decades.

"Here we had to go down, like 300 feet to come into where my boat was,” said Round Rock resident Miguel Valera, showing KVUE how high his boat sits now that the lake is full.

When the lake levels went down, so did the business opportunities in the area. Fewer people came out to the lake, causing businesses to lose profit. Now that the lake is full, business will be able to boom again.

"There's more work on the lake, on boats, there's more people coming out, more people buying boats," Pilotto said.

Boat rental company Just For Fun opened their business for the season a month sooner to cater to high demand.

"We are breaking up earlier and heavier than we have in six or seven years,” an employee said.

The atmosphere among neighbors changed as well. As the lake became more full, neighbors became more social/

"We have lots of get-togethers, anniversaries, birthday parties, that's what's going on now," Pilotto said.

What better way to spend the summertime than surrounded by friends at the lake.

*  Story Contributed by: Nicole Rosales