SPICEWOOD, Texas -- The Lower Colorado River Authority revised its forecast Friday, estimating Lake Travis to crest between 704 and 706 feet above mean sea level, as measured at Mansfield Dam. The lake exceeded 704 feet by midday Friday.

  • Pedernales River rising along with Lake Travis
  • Firefighters prepare for emergency rescues in case conditions change
  • Lake Travis crest downgraded to 706 feet

The continuous rise of Lake Travis throughout the week due to heavy rains and flooding upstream caused tributaries like the Pedernales River to swell beyond their banks. Families along the river several miles upstream spent the second half of the week preparing their properties for flood levels to reach between 705 and 710 feet, as the LCRA originally forecast.

Ed and Robbi Turek are retired and have been watching the waters rise since Monday.

"It was starling, and now it is just a slow creep of an inch an hour," Ed Turek said. "I just keep waiting for it to stop and recede."

The Turek family lives about two miles up the river from Lake Travis. Turek said he could see the water almost flow upstream from the Colorado River, which makes up Lake Travis, backing up to his property.

He used a laser level and duct tape Thursday to mark the elevations of 705 and 710 feet on a tree on his property. Turek said every foot the river rises matters.

"Well, 710 feet puts it at our tuck-under garage here," he said. "It puts it just almost to the garage."

The main floor is at 720 feet, Turek said. Thursday evening, members of the Pedernales Fire Department went door-to-door along the Pedernales and Colorado Rivers to check on residents.

"Seeing what the elevation was of those areas to know whether there were going to be residents that were going to be in danger when the lake level came up higher," said Lt. Kyle Swarts.

With the slower rise of the river, residents have more time to put sandbags at their doorsteps... and bring kayaks to higher ground. Swarts said everyone should have an alternate escape plan in case conditions change.

"On the off chance that they haven't made those plans and they are caught by surprise, I know that the Pedernales Fire Department and all of our neighboring agencies are pretty well prepared,” he said.

The LCRA said it did not plan to open additional floodgates at Mansfield Dam, which would lower lake levels faster. However, the agency said that plan could change based on future rainfall. The dam's spillway is at 714 feet; the reservoir is considered full at 681 feet.