If you are considering building on Lake Travis and probably on many other lakes, there are some things you need to know.  Lake Travis is west of downtown Austin, Texas around 45 minutes.  Everything in this article will be specific to Lake Travis, but it may provide some things to think about for anyone building on any lake.

The first thing a buyer of Lake Travis property needs to learn about is the floodplain.  The full level of Lake Travis is 681 feet above sea level.  The Lake Travis floodplain is at 722 feet.  Why the huge difference?  Lake Travis rises and falls depending on rain and on water use.  Lake Travis is the main flood control lake of the Highland Lakes and it is managed by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA).  The LCRA has obligations to release water downstream because of water contracts.  At times without rain, the lake will drop.  When we get too much rain, the LCRA holds it back in Lake Travis to minimize or prevent downstream flooding.

OK, so the level of Lake Travis can change.  What does that have to do with building on lakefront property?  With the floodplain at 722 feet, the requirement for building is that the first occupied floor of a house needs to be at 723 feet or higher.  So the first thing you need to know is the elevation of the lot – the whole lot and the location of the floodplain if part of the lot is in it.  Most lots on Lake Travis slope and the slope can be gentle or it can be very steep  If the lot is low to begin with, you probably want to build as close to toe highest level of the lot as possible.  Take a look at the example below.

This shows a very nice looking home on a lot that is obviously very much in the floodplain.  The builder of this house chose to have a large garage under much of the house and closed the garage in with brick or stone.  You can see the lake in the background past some bare land.  The level of Lake Travis when this photo was taken was around 658 feet above sea level.  The highest the lake has gotten in its history was just under 711 feet.  That would have put a lot of water in the garage of this house.

The above photo shows another stilt house close to Lake Travis that sits a bit higher than the previous house.  Notice the ramp rather than stairs.  You may be wondering about an elevator instead of stairs or a ramp.  My thought is that this is just one more mechanical system that will be damaged when the water rises and an elevator would probably be pretty expensive to replace or repair.  In case you are wondering about the metal frame at the top left, that is another house going up next door.

Other things to think that get more detailed are the septic system, the location of air conditioning compressors, a propane tank if you will have gas, the electrical service panel (breaker box) and water system equipment if not on city or other private water.  To minimize damage, these items should be elevated.  Lake Travis has been above 700 feet three times and above 690 four times since 1990. As the lake has never been higher than 711 feet, placing these at 715 feet or higher would probably fine, but there would still be some risk. 

Many of the available lots you will find with frontage on Lake Travis will not have public water or sewer.  Septic systems are quite common.  There are two types you can install.  If there is sufficient room, a gravity system can be used.  These septic systems have next to nothing mechanically so they are less susceptible to damage by flood waters.  Aerobic septic systems have many mechanical parts.  These are generally installed when there is less room for the large underground septic drain field.

Here is the problem with a septic system:  when the lake floods, the septic tank cannot function properly.  If it an aerobic system, the electricity will not be working.  If it is a gravity system, the tank won’t be able to drain.  In other words, when the lake floods and your system is under water, you can’t count on using plumbing.  This may be fine if you have a weekend house, but what about living there full time?  When Lake Travis floods, the water usually is back down in a week or so, but even being unable to use a house for a week may be a problem.

The LCRA has specific rules about locations of septic systems.  The basic rule is that the lowest point of the septic drain field must be at the elevation of 691 feet or higher.  In some cases a holding tank might be lower than this, but the effluent would need to be pumped to a higher drain field and this would require a variance from the LCRA.  So once again, you need to know the elevation of the entire lot in order to know if a septic system can even be installed.

Regarding water, if the lot you are looking at does not have some sort of municipal water supply, you will need a well or to draw water out of the lake.  The LCRA does allow pumping water from Lake Travis for household use and landscaping, but you need a contract with the LCRA to do that.  You will also need a holding tank and purification equipment.  All of this should also be placed at a high enough elevation so none of the equipment is within easy reach of floodwaters.

So getting back to building on a Lake Travis waterfront lot, there are things you need to know before going out and looking at lots.   If you work with a Lake Travis REALTOR®, he or she should be able to provide guidance in these areas.  Click for information about the Lake Travis floodplain.

Questions about Lake Travis real estate?  Call me at 512-293-2422.

Fast forward to April, 2009.  The lake is way down again.  If you own property on Lake Travis, this might be a great time to clean up or repair anything you've got extending into the water.  Stairs to boat docks and other things that are usually covered by water come to mind.  From the look of things, spring rains are not going to fill Lake Travis.  So the end of the summer may give Lake Travis waterfront owners an opportunity to go farther down without getting wet.

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