AUSTIN, Texas — Water levels at Lake Travis are low. The lake currently sits at just 39% of its full capacity and is almost 38 feet below the historical average.
For Santos Ramirez, who owns the party boat rental company Keep Austin Wet, the low water levels are affecting business.
"As far as this year bookings and such, we've noticed we're about 25% down," Ramirez said. "It's pretty much the first year that we've seen in my personal experience. Kind of a downtick in it, just on our opinion, due to the negative information out there for there for the lake and the level it's actually at."
"As a whole, Paradise Cove, we have about 100 rental boats here, about 25 companies and everybody's just seen a little bit of a decline," Ramirez added.
While public boat ramps are closed due to low water levels, Ramirez said the lake is still vibrant.
"The lake is still 100 feet, 50 feet in Devil's Cove, which is where everybody going. So we're still rock and rolling," Ramirez said.
He said potential water-goers are concerned about safety, but there are ways to keep boating on and help keep business afloat.
"We're kind of just basically putting all our guests into areas that are deep so there's no obstructions," Ramirez said. "You know, we're doing things like not jumping off the top this year. We're just doing different things, just to make sure that people are not getting into situations where they are in shallow water."
"We're a big family here and we want to stay in business," Ramirez added.