AUSTIN, Texas —The recent drownings in Austin are sparking outrage in communities that say they have been vocalizing safety concerns about Lady Bird Lake long before this year’s Rainey Street deaths.

According to a Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office, 297 people have died from drowning from 2009 through 2021. Annual reports show those numbers have been steadily increasing since 2015.

What You Need To Know

  • Austin Police Department reports five late night Rainey Street Trailhead drownings since 2014

  • East Town Lake Citizens Neighborhood Association count 26 Lady Bird Lake drownings since 2008

  • The city’s parks department and APD say they are working to improve safety around the water

  • East Austin residents say they’ve been asking for warning signs and guardrails for decades

East Austin residents say drownings in Lady Bird Lake have been ongoing for decades, but the city has done very little to improve safety conditions in their neighborhood. Advocates say something as simple as signs and guardrails could help prevent future deaths.

“It has a very strong current,” said Bertha Rendon Delgado.

Delgado has lived along the east shores of Lady Bird Lake all her life.

“[It’s] literally been neglected here,” she said.

In those forty-some years, she says these seemingly calm waters are as dangerous as they are beautiful.

“This is just unsafe,” she said.

Her 8-year-old and 11-year-old cousins drowned in Lady Bird Lake in 1964. The area where it happened became a no swimming zone, but there are no signs or guardrails at the location.

“We’ve been demanding [the] parks department to do something,” Delgado said.

Delgado is the president of East Town Lake Citizens Neighborhood Association. By her count, there have been at least 26 bodies found in Lady Bird Lake since 2008, numbers she found from old news articles, reports and victims' families.

“We have an emergency issue here,” she said.

In a press release, Austin Police Department reports: “Since 2014, there have been five late night/overnight drownings near the Rainey Street Trailhead area."

Spectrum News requested data on all drownings in Lady Bird Lake since 2013. An APD spokesperson said they did not have that data readily available. We were able to obtain some records from Austin Emergency Medical Services. The information they gave us shows 16 drowning deaths within 300 feet of Austin area lakes from 2018 through 2022.

Austin Parks and Recreation was not available for an interview, but in a statement, a spokesperson said they have been working with the community and other departments on a “vision plan, and safety and mobility study.”

“You notice there’s no railing here to protect the pedestrians, there’s no lighting.” Delgado said. “Not one sign on here that says people need to keep out, no swimming.”

APD says City Council plans to introduce a resolution for a safety plan, increase cameras in the area and work with bars on over-serving alcohol.

Austin Parks and Recreation say it will host a town hall meeting with community members about safety concerns on May 17.

We requested detailed drowning death reports from APD and the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office. Both departments have yet to provide that information.