SAN ANTONIO — There are more water woes as lake levels across South Texas keep dropping due to the region’s drought.
At Canyon Lake, about 42 miles north of downtown San Antonio, the water level this month is the lowest it’s been in over 50 years.
“Since they filled it, it’s never been this low. There’s a lot of different aspects to that, but the biggest one is nobody can get on the lake,” said Dustin Smith, who owns Below The Belt Services, a boat-detailing business.
Below The Belt Services is managing for now, but if the drought persists, it’ll impact Smith’s work.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have enough boats to to fill my time, and I’m still booked out about two months right now,” he said. “So I’m doing well now, but those boats will run out.”
One year ago – on March 20, 2024 – Canyon Lake was 60% full, according to data from the Texas Water Development Board. In September, that number dropped to just over 55%.
The trend continued from there. Three months ago, Canyon Lake was 50.6% full, and as of Thursday water levels sit at 47.6%. That amounts to a 20% drop in one year.
The reason for the water scarcity: Much of the region is experiencing “extreme” or even “exceptional” drought, the most severe tiers as classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor. That includes Comal County, most of which has been in extreme drought since Oct. 22 of last year.
“The lake levels are scary, very scary,” said Mason Perez, a dock hand at Cranes Mill Marina. “But honestly, this is the best time to come out to the lake, just because of how many people are out here.”
The lake level is so low that Cranes Mill had to move its entire marina 1,000 feet out to stay in water. But, Perez said, now is a great time to come out.
“Because the lake levels are so low, there’s plenty of space out here on the water right now,” he said.
There are currently no public boat ramps open at Canyon Lake, and it will likely stay that way until the lake level comes back up. And as for our next shot at rain? Aside from a 20% chance on March 26, the rest of the month is looking bone-dry for the San Antonio region.