Lake McQueeney is one lake benefitting from several inches of rain in the past several weeks.
SAN ANTONIO — Recent rains have boosted the level of area waterways to levels not seen in years, mainly thanks to the drought. Those in Lake McQueeney are celebrating the rain, and the success of a new dam.
Lake McQueeney’s water woes are virtually no more. The Guadalupe River, with more water in it filling up the lake downstream, and homeowners nearby couldn’t be more thrilled.
“So until just a few days ago, you can see the riverbed. So until a few weeks ago, you could see probably 10, 20ft, out from the wall of all rock and dirt and so forth,” said Dr. Irvin Sahni who lives near Lake McQueeney.
He and his family love to have fun on the water.
“We live on the lake. We’d hop on the boat and go out and wake surf and wakeboard and all that kind of stuff,” Dr. Sahni said.
But in 2023 Lake McQueeney was drained when it’s century-old dam needed repair.
“We knew that our our dam was about 100 years old and needed to be redone,” Dr. Sahni added.
With the water level this low, Dr. Sahni took the opportunity to replace a retaining wall. The new dam went into effect this year thanks to the Friends of Lake McQueeney, and the lake was already filling up, but the recent heavy rains have made it fill even faster.
“There was a walkway next to that wall that we put in, so you could literally go down and walk in the riverbed,” Dr. Sahni added.
Lake McQueeney isn’t the only lake that has come up from recent rains.
One year ago, Medina Lake was just 2% full. Now it’s about 4% full. Canyon Lake went from 46% for one year ago to 58% for now. And Lake Travis, wow, 41% for one year ago, now near 73% full!
But even with the river rockin’, Dr. Sahni says boaters should be a little cautious.
“There’s going to be a lot of debris in the water. So if you were to take your boat out right now, pretty good chance you’d strike your prop,” Dr. Sahni said.