CANYON LAKE, Texas – Canyon Lake had a slow Monday on the Memorial Day weekend.
Water levels have been steadily sinking for over two years, and the lake has been setting new historic lows since this past August.
At less than 58% full right now, the lake surface is 23 feet lower than normal, and My Canyon Lake reports that only two of 23 boat ramps are still open:
- Boat Ramp 18 - located on Canyon Park Road, requires a fee to access the park
- Boat Ramp 19 - located inside the Canyon Lake Marina, requires a fee
It’s not clear how much the low levels were behind the slow end to the Memorial Day Weekend.
Darla Slate and her family were on the water both Sunday and Monday. Slate pointed out many more people were on the shore Sunday, and “you probably couldn’t find a parking spot.”
“I think a lot more people are probably home barbecuing with family, you know,” she said of the slow Monday. “Could be a deterrent. You know, (it) just depends.”
Canyon Lake was constructed as a reservoir in the 1960′s. But while the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority continues to let water downstream, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Park Ranger Philip Anderson told KSAT in April that “about 75%” of the lake level drop is due to evaporation.
With summer-like heat beginning to beat down on the region, that will remain a concern for now.