Your Water
Where does our water come from?
Cedar Park's water source is Lake Travis, part of the Colorado River. On the lower Colorado River, there are six dams that create our area lakes (also called the Highland Lakes). One of those lakes is Lake Travis, formed by Mansfield Dam.
What is Lake Travis' primary job?
Well, it can multitask:
- Water supply: Lake Travis supplies everything from the water we drink to water for fighting fires to water for industrial, commercial, and agricultural uses.
- Flood management: Mansfield Dam, which forms Lake Travis, was built for the specific purpose of containing and managing floodwaters.
An added benefit of having the lake, but not its primary role, is for recreational use — water skiing, fishing, and boating are some of the activities Central Texans regularly enjoy on Lake Travis.
What makes lake levels important to me?
Lake levels are important indicators of your overall water supply. Lake Travis’ full elevation is at 681 feet above mean sea level. To help you gauge what that means, during the drought of 2009, Lake Travis fell to 629.83 feet — less than 40 percent full. That was one of the historic lows for the lake.
Knowing the lake level isn't important only to boaters — the information is available daily for anyone wanting to see how the lakes fluctuate. Think of Lake Travis as the faucet in your home or the showerhead in your shower: the more you use, the more it's tapped. You can find out the current levels of Lake Travis and all the Highland Lakes here.
How is our water processed?
A pipe connecting more than 15 miles of lines delivers water from intake structures on Lake Travis to the City of Cedar Park.
Image provided by Community Impact
How much water is Cedar Park allotted?
The City of Cedar Park can purchase up to 18,000 acre-feet of water annually through a contract with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). That amount is estimated to be sufficient to meet the needs of the city at its maximum size. Typically, the city uses less than 14,000 acre-feet each year.
What is the City's relationship with LCRA?
Cedar Park became a raw-water customer of LCRA in 1973. The City of Cedar Park owns and operates its own water treatment plant on Lake Travis.
What is the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority (BCRUA)?
The Cities of Leander, Cedar Park, and Round Rock have created the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority (BCRUA) and are planning a regional water intake and treatment plant to serve all of the cities with additional water treatment capacity. The cities would take water from Lake Travis under the above contracts for the regional plant. The water would be treated at the regional facility and sent to the cities.
WATER IQ® is a licensed Service Mark of the Texas Water Development Board.