Editing Lake Austin

{{short description|Man-made reservoir in Texas, United States}}
{{About|the lake in Texas|the lake in Western Australia|Lake Austin (Australia)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Lake Austin
| image = Lake austin 2005.jpg
| caption = Seen from [[Mount Bonnell]]
| alt = image of Lake Austin from Mount Bonnell
| pushpin_map = Texas
| pushpin_map_alt = Lake Austin is in central Texas
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Lake Austin in [[Texas]]
| location = [[Austin, Texas]]
| coords = {{coord|30|17.66|N|97|47.18|W|region:US-TX_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
| lake_type = [[Hydroelectricity|Hydroelectric]] [[Reservoir (water)|reservoir]]
| part_of = The [[Texas Highland Lakes]]
| inflow = [[Colorado River (Texas)|Colorado River]] (from [[Lake Travis]])
| outflow = [[Colorado River (Texas)|Colorado River]] (into [[Lady Bird Lake]])
| basin_countries = United States
| agency = [[Lower Colorado River Authority]]
| date-built = {{Start date|1939}}
| area = {{convert|1599|acre|abbr=on}}
| max-depth = {{convert|75|ft|abbr=on}}
| elevation = {{Convert|492|ft|m|abbr=on}} above sea level
}}

'''Lake Austin''', formerly '''Lake McDonald''', is a water [[reservoir]] on the [[Colorado River (Texas)|Colorado River]] in [[Austin, Texas]]. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of [[Tom Miller Dam]] by the [[Lower Colorado River Authority]]. Lake Austin is one of the seven [[Texas Highland Lakes|Highland Lakes]] created by the LCRA, and is used for [[flood control]], [[Hydroelectricity|electrical power generation]], and recreation.

==Hydrology==
[[File:Lake Austin Pennybacker Bridge.JPG|thumb|left|Lake Austin under the [[Pennybacker Bridge]]|alt=image of Pennybacker Bridge from underneath on Lake Austin]]
Lake Austin is a part of Texas' [[Colorado River (Texas)|Colorado River]]; it begins below [[Mansfield Dam]] and is principally fed by the outflow of [[Lake Travis]]. The lake [[meander]]s generally from northwest to southeast, with few significant [[Tributary|tributaries]]; the largest are [[Bull Creek (Texas)|Bull Creek]], entering from the north near where [[Texas State Highway Loop 360|Loop 360]] spans the lake at the [[Pennybacker Bridge]], and Bee Creek, entering from the west just above Tom Miller Dam, where the lake ends. Its outflow through Tom Miller Dam then becomes the principal inflow for [[Lady Bird Lake]].

Lake Austin is maintained as a [[constant-level lake]] by releases of water from Lake Travis upstream. The other [[Texas Highland Lakes|Highland Lake]] reservoirs on the Colorado River are [[Lake Buchanan (Texas)|Lake Buchanan]], [[Inks Lake]], [[Lake LBJ]], [[Lake Marble Falls]], and Lake Travis upstream, and Lady Bird Lake downstream.

==History==
The first lake on the same site was named Lake McDonald, a reservoir formed by the construction of Austin Dam between 1890 and 1893. In 1900 a heavy rainstorm [[Austin Dam failure (Texas)|overwhelmed and destroyed]] the first Austin Dam, causing extensive flooding. The dam began to be rebuilt in 1915, but repairs were abandoned because of a contract dispute, and the unfinished dam was again destroyed in a heavy storm later that year. In 1938 the Lower Colorado River Authority began building the Tom Miller Dam; the dam was completed and the lake filled in 1939.<ref>{{Cite web|title=LAKE AUSTIN (TRAVIS COUNTY)|website=[[Handbook of Texas Online]]|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rol13|access-date=21 April 2015|date=15 June 2010|publisher=[[Texas State Historical Association]]}}</ref>

==Recreational uses==
Lake Austin is a popular fishing and boating destination.

===Boating===
Numerous companies rent out sailboats, motorboats, jet skis/waverunners, canoes, pontoon boats, and large party boats in the Austin area.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6692W5sYakC&pg=PA303|title = Insiders' Guide to Austin|year = 1999|isbn = 9780762755684| last1=Hylton | first1=Hilary | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}</ref>

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department offers classes in canoeing, kayaking, and sailing.<ref name=":0" />

===Fish and wildlife populations===
Lake Austin has been stocked with several species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. The lake is considered to have an excellent stock of [[largemouth bass]].<ref name="PWD">{{cite web|title=Lake Austin|url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/austin/|access-date=21 April 2015|website=[[Texas Parks and Wildlife Department]]}}</ref> Other fish present include [[catfish]] and [[Centrarchidae|sunfish]].

Lake Austin is one of the Texas Highland Lakes infested with [[hydrilla]], a non-native aquatic plant species.  The Lower Colorado River Authority has intentionally lowered the water levels in the lake in the months of January and February so that freezing air temperatures might destroy substantial portions of the [[hydrilla]] in the lake each winter. As of March 2014, hydrilla has been completely eliminated from the lake through the stocking of Asian [[grass carp]] by the City of Austin.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hydrilla plant gone from Lake Austin|date=27 October 2013|url=http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/2014/05/25/2418984/|newspaper=[[KVUE (Texas)|KVUE]]|access-date=21 April 2015}}</ref> As of September 2016 the grass carp released into Lake Austin have begun to devastate the lake’s natural resources. This has led to a decline in the wildlife native to this section of the Colorado River.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kut.org/post/grass-carp-ate-all-plants-lake-austin-now-city-wants-them-gone |title=Grass Carp Ate All the Plants in Lake Austin. Now the City Wants Them Gone |website=www.kut.org |date= 9 September 2016|access-date=29 April 2019}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
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{{Austin}}
{{Greater Austin}}
{{Texas}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Lake}}
[[Category:Reservoirs in Texas]]
[[Category:Geography of Austin, Texas]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Travis County, Texas]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Travis County, Texas]]
[[Category:1939 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Lower Colorado River Authority]]