Lady Bird Lake

Last updated

Town Lake
AustinSkylineLouNeffPoint-Jun2010-a.JPG
View from Lady Bird Lake toward Downtown Austin.
Relief map of Texas.png
Red pog.svg
Town Lake
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Town Lake
LocationCentral Austin, Texas,
United States
Coordinates 30°15′03″N97°42′49″W / 30.25083°N 97.71361°W / 30.25083; -97.71361
Type Power plant cooling/recreational reservoir
Primary inflows Colorado River
Primary outflows Colorado River
Basin  countriesUnited States
Built1960
Surface area468 acres (189 ha)
Max. depth18 ft (5.5 m)
Surface elevation428 ft (130 m)

Lady Bird Lake (formerly, and still colloquially referred to as Town Lake) is a river-like reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas, United States. The City of Austin created the reservoir in 1960 as a cooling pond for a new city power plant. The lake, which has a surface area of 416 acres (168 ha), is now used primarily for recreation and flood control. The reservoir is named in honor of former First Lady of the United States Lady Bird Johnson. [1]

Contents

Lady Bird Lake is the easternmost lake of a chain of reservoirs on the river, which is completely located in Texas, and should not be confused with the larger Colorado River located in the Southwestern United States. This chain, known locally as the Texas Highland Lakes, also includes Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, and Lake Austin.

History

Longhorn Dam impounds Lady Bird Lake Longhorn dam.jpg
Longhorn Dam impounds Lady Bird Lake

The City of Austin constructed Longhorn Dam in 1960 to form Town Lake. The city needed the reservoir to serve as a cooling pond for the Holly Street Power Plant, which operated from 1960 until 2007. [2]

Before 1971, the shoreline of Town Lake was mostly a mixture of weeds, unkempt bushes, and trash. [3] Local television station KTBC referred to the lake as an "eyesore". [3] Some concerned Austinites led small projects to clean up the lake. Roberta Crenshaw, chair of the Austin Board of Parks and Recreation, purchased nearly 400 trees and shrubs in an effort to spearhead parkland development around the lake. [4] During his two terms in office (1971–75), the Mayor of Austin, Roy Butler, led the Austin City Council to establish the Town Lake Beautification Committee, and he appointed Lady Bird Johnson as the project's honorary chairman. Johnson's involvement brought attention and money (including $19,000 of her own) to the Town Lake project, allowing for the planting of hundreds of shrubs and trees. [5] The city also built a system of hike and bike trails along the shoreline of the lake.

On July 26, 2007, the Austin City Council passed a resolution authorizing the renaming of the reservoir from Town Lake to Lady Bird Lake in honor of Lady Bird Johnson, who had died earlier that month. [6] Johnson had declined the honor of having the lake renamed for her while she was alive. In renaming the lake, the City Council recognized Johnson's dedication to beautifying the lake and her efforts to create a recreational trail system around the lake's shoreline. [7]

In 2009, non-profit organization Keep Austin Beautiful [8] launched "Clean Lady Bird Lake". [9] The program mobilizes thousands of community volunteers annually to conduct large-scale cleanups along the lake every other month and targeted cleanups throughout the year. [10] [11]

In 2014, a one-mile stretch of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, named after a former Austin mayor and his wife, was paved to create a boardwalk. [12]

On February 5, 2024, members of the Austin Police Department responded to the 300 block of West Cesar Chavez Street, where first responders recovered a dead body that had been discovered by civilians earlier, following a series of four other bodies recovered from the lake in 2023. [13] [14] [15]

Recreational uses

View of Lady Bird Lake and the Downtown skyline seen from the East Riverside neighborhood. LadyBirdLakeTrail.jpg
View of Lady Bird Lake and the Downtown skyline seen from the East Riverside neighborhood.

Lady Bird Lake is a major recreation area for the City of Austin. The lake's banks are bounded by the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, and businesses offer recreational watercraft services along the lakefront portion of the trail. Austin's largest downtown park, Zilker Park, is adjacent to the lake, and Barton Springs, a major attraction for swimmers, flows into the lake.

The City of Austin prohibits the operation of most motorized watercraft on Lady Bird Lake. [16] As a result, the lake serves as a popular recreational area for paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, dragon boats, and rowing shells. Austin's warm climate and the river's calm waters, nearly 6 miles (9.7 km) length and straight courses are especially popular with crew teams and clubs. Along with the University of Texas women's rowing team and coeducational club rowing team, who practice on Lady Bird Lake year-round, teams from other universities (including the University of Wisconsin, [17] the University of Chicago, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Nebraska) train on Lady Bird Lake during Christmas holidays and spring breaks.[ citation needed ]

Other water sports along the shores of the lake include swimming in Deep Eddy Pool, the oldest swimming pool in Texas, and Barton Springs Pool, a natural pool on Barton Creek which flows into Lady Bird Lake. Below Tom Miller Dam is Red Bud Isle, a small island formed by the 1900 collapse of the McDonald Dam that serves as a recreation area with a dog park and access to the lake for canoeing and fishing. [18]

Swimming in Lady Bird Lake is illegal not due to poor water quality from the run-off from area streets, which is a false rumor, but rather due to several drownings as well as debris in the water from bridges and dams destroyed by floods in years past. The City of Austin enacted the ban in 1964, and the fine can be up to $500. [19]

For the first time in August 2019, a toxic blue-green algae was found in the lake and reportedly killed at least 5 dogs who were exposed. [20]

Music venues on the banks of Lady Bird Lake are home to a number of events year-round, including the Austin City Limits Music Festival in the fall, the Austin Reggae Festival and Spamarama in the spring, and many open-air concerts at Auditorium Shores on the south bank and Fiesta Gardens on the north bank. The Austin Aqua Festival was held on the shores of Lady Bird Lake from 1962 until 1998.[ citation needed ] The late Austin resident and blues guitar legend, Stevie Ray Vaughan played a number of concerts at Auditorium Shores and is honored with a memorial statue on the south bank.

Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and Boardwalk

Many Austinites take advantage of the Butler Trail to keep fit by walking, running or cycling. Butler Hike and Bike Trail Austin Runners 2017.jpg
Many Austinites take advantage of the Butler Trail to keep fit by walking, running or cycling.
Part of the boardwalk in 2018 Butler Hike and Bike Trail Boardwak.jpg
Part of the boardwalk in 2018

The Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, formerly the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, creates a complete circuit around Lady Bird Lake. It is one of the oldest urban Texas hike and bike paths. The trail is the longest trail designed for non-motorized traffic maintained by the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. A local nonprofit, The Trail Conservancy, is the Trail's private steward and has made Trail-wide improvements by adding user amenities and infrastructure including trailheads and lakefront gathering areas, locally-designed jewel box restrooms, exercise equipment, as well as doing trailwide ecological restoration work on an ongoing basis.

The Butler Trail loop was completed in 2014 with the public-private partnership 1-mile Boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake project, which was spearheaded by The Trail Conservancy. [21] [22] Construction on the $28 million project was completed during October 2012 – June 2014. [23] [24]

The trail is 10.1 miles (16.3 km) long and mostly flat, with 97.5% of it at less than an 8% grade. The trail's surface is smooth and is mostly crushed granite except for a few lengths of concrete and a boardwalk [25] on the South-side of the lake. A pedestrian bridge incorporated into the trail bridges Barton Creek. The Roberta Crenshaw Pedestrian Walkway spans Lady Bird Lake beneath MoPac Boulevard and provides the trail's westernmost crossing of Lady Bird Lake.

The trail encompasses the Lou Neff Point Gazebo at the confluence of Barton Creek and Lady Bird Lake. It is listed as 'Austin Art in Public Places'. [26]

Fishing

Lady Bird Lake has been stocked with several species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. The predominant fish species in Lady Bird Lake are largemouth bass, catfish, carp, and sunfish. Fishing is regulated, requiring a fishing license, and daily bag and length limits apply for most species.

A ban on the consumption of fish caught in the lake was issued by the City of Austin in 1990, as a result of excessively high levels of chlordane found in the fish. [27] Although the use of chlordane as a pesticide was banned in the United States in 1988, the chemical sticks strongly to soil particles and can continue to pollute groundwater for years after its application. The ban on the consumption of fish caught in the lake was finally lifted in 1999. [28]

Drinking water uses

The first water treatment facility in the City of Austin, the Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant, was built in 1925 to treat water from the Colorado River. The plant occupied 6 acres (2.4 ha) just west of the principal downtown business district. The water treatment facility was decommissioned in late 2008. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin, Texas</span> Capital city of Texas

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the seat and most populous city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 28th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, the 11th-most populous city in the United States, the fourth-most populous city in the state after Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas, and the second-most populous state capital city after Phoenix, the capital of Arizona. It has been one of the fastest growing large cities in the United States since 2010. Downtown Austin and Downtown San Antonio are approximately 80 miles (129 km) apart, and both fall along the Interstate 35 corridor. This combined metropolitan region of San Antonio–Austin has approximately 5 million people. Austin is the southernmost state capital in the contiguous United States and is considered a Gamma + level global city as categorized by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zilker Park</span> Historic urban park in Austin, Texas

Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in south Austin, Texas at the juncture of Barton Creek and the Colorado River that comprises over 350 acres (142 ha) of publicly owned land. It is named after its benefactor, Andrew Jackson Zilker, who donated the land to the city in 1917. The land was developed into a park during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Today the park serves as a hub for many recreational activities and the hike and bike trail around Lady Bird Lake, both of which run next to the park. The large size of the park makes it a capable venue for large-scale events such as the Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Zilker Park Kite Festival. The park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Austin</span> Man-made reservoir in Texas, United States

Lake Austin, formerly Lake McDonald, is a water reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lake Austin is one of the seven Highland Lakes created by the LCRA, and is used for flood control, electrical power generation, and recreation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longhorn Dam</span> Dam in Texas, United States

Longhorn Dam is a dam crossing the Colorado River in Austin, Texas, United States, where it creates Lady Bird Lake. Completed in 1960, the dam was built by the City of Austin as the last in a chain of Colorado River dams in central Texas begun during the Great Depression. The name refers to its location on a ford used for longhorn cattle drives as a part of the Chisholm Trail in the late 19th century.

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is the largest electric utility in the state of Nebraska, serving all or parts of 84 counties. It was formed on January 1, 1970, when Consumers Public Power District, Platte Valley Public Power and Irrigation District (PVPPID) and Nebraska Public Power System merged to become Nebraska Public Power District. NPPD's predecessors were created through the efforts of the Nebraska legislature and financial agent Guy L. Myers as part of a system where all the investor-owned utilities operating in the state of Nebraska were condemned and their properties turned over to 'public power districts' being created at the time. NPPD is a public corporation and political subdivision of the state of Nebraska. The utility is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors, who are popularly elected from NPPD's chartered territory.

Roberta P. Crenshaw was an American civic leader and philanthropist. Crenshaw campaigned for over 60 years to preserve parkland in Austin, Texas and supported Austin-area cultural institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folsom Lake</span> Reservoir on the American River in the Sacramento metropolitan area

Folsom Lake is a reservoir on the American River in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, United States. Folsom Lake with its surrounding Folsom Lake State Recreation Area is one of the most visited parks in the California park system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area</span> National recreation area in California, United States

The Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area is a United States National Recreation Area in northern California. The recreation area was authorized in 1965 by the United States Congress. Recreational activities available include swimming, fishing, boating, camping, and hiking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bastrop State Park</span> State park and historic site in Texas, United States

Bastrop State Park is a state park in Bastrop County, Texas, United States. The park was established in 1933 and consists of stands of loblolly pines mixed with post oak and junipers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barton Creek Greenbelt</span> Public park in Austin, Texas

The Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin, Texas is managed by the City of Austin's Park and Recreation Department. The Greenbelt is a 7.25-mile (11.67 km) stretch of public land spanning from Zilker Park west to the Lost Creek neighborhood. The Barton Creek Greenbelt runs parallel to the first 6.5 miles of Barton Creek before ending on a steep .75 mile hill commonly referred to as the hill of life. The Barton Creek Greenbelt consists of three areas: the Barton Creek Wilderness Park, the Upper Greenbelt, and the Lower Greenbelt. It is characterized by large limestone cliffs, dense foliage, and shallow bodies of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve</span> Nature preserve in Kentucky, United States

Beargrass Creek State Nature Preserve is a 41-acre (17 ha) nature preserve located in Louisville, Kentucky's Poplar Level neighborhood, in roughly the central portion of the city. It is named for Beargrass Creek, the south fork of which passes along the northern side of the preserve. The preserve is adjacent to Louisville's Joe Creason Park and the Louisville Nature Center. It is owned by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and the LNC assists with management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cutler Park</span>

Cutler Park is a state-owned nature preserve and public recreation area that lies between Route 128/I-95 and the Charles River in Needham, Massachusetts. The state park's 772 acres (312 ha) contain the largest remaining freshwater marsh on the middle Charles River. Parts of its major trail run directly through the marsh via boardwalks; over 100 species of birds have been sighted here. The park is part of a plan by the Town of Needham to connect 18 public areas by 35 proposed trails. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auditorium Shores</span> Urban park in Austin, Texas, U.S.

Auditorium Shores is an urban park located in downtown Austin, Texas, within the larger Town Lake Park. Its name refers to its location between the former Palmer Auditorium and the shores of Lady Bird Lake. The park is known as the site of major music performances at South by Southwest and Fun Fun Fun Fest, as well as a number of other events.

East Riverside-Oltorf is a neighborhood in Austin, Texas, located southeast of the city's urban core. The East Riverside, Parker Lane, and Pleasant Valley neighborhoods together form the East Riverside-Oltorf Combined Neighborhood Planning Area. The region is bounded on the north by Lake Lady Bird, to the east by Grove Boulevard and the Montopolis neighborhood, Texas State Highway 71 to the south, and Interstate 35 and South River City to the west.

Roy Anderson Butler, Sr., was an American politician and businessman who served as the mayor of the capital city of Austin, Texas, from 1971 until 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas</span> River in the United States

Shoal Creek is a stream and an urban watershed in Austin, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James D. Pfluger Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge</span> Pedestrian bridge in Austin, Texas

The James D. Pfluger Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge is a shared use bridge for pedestrians and cyclists spanning Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas. Opened in 2001, the bridge connects the north and south sides of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and features an unusual "double curve" design. The bridge runs parallel to the Lamar Boulevard Bridge, which carries road traffic across the lake roughly 200 feet (61 m) to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrrell Park</span>

Tyrrell Park is a municipal park located in Beaumont, Texas. The park has an area of around 500 acres (2.0 km2). It includes the eighteen hole Henry Homberg Golf Course; the Beaumont Botanical Gardens and Warren Loose Conservatory, the second largest public conservatory in Texas; a hiking trail; an equestrian center; and facilities for several sports and outdoor activities. Adjacent to the park is the 900 acres (4 km2) Cattail Marsh, a nature center with hiking trail. The park is located in a migratory bird flyway and Tyrrell Park is listed on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet Crown Trail</span>

The Violet Crown Trail is a 30-mile (48 km) pedestrian and cycling trail in Austin, Texas. Established in 2006 by the Hill Country Conservancy, the trail follows Barton Creek from Zilker Park and Mopac Expressway southwestward before finally terminating at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The trail is mostly made of decomposed granite but has various links that are only suitable for hiking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake</span> Boardwalk in Austin, Texas, U.S.

The Boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake is a boardwalk along Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas, United States.

References

  1. ↑ "Lady Bird Lake". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Holly Street Power Plant is Retired" (PDF). Austin Energy Customer News. Austin Energy. Retrieved April 9, 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. 1 2 "Former Austin Mayor Roy Butler Has Died". KTBC . November 13, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  4. ↑ American-Statesman Staff (February 9, 2015). "Roberta Crenshaw:Lady Bird Lake's unsung hero". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  5. ↑ Wear, Ben. "Lady Bird helped turn Town Lake into town treasure". Austin American-Statesman, July 13, 2007. pA1, A6.
  6. ↑ Raskin, Amy. "Austin changes Town Lake name to Lady Bird Lake". Houston Chronicle . July 26, 2007.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Janet (July 12, 2007). "Lady Bird Johnson dies at 94". Austin American-Statesman . Archived from the original on February 19, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Home - Keep Austin Beautiful". keepaustinbeautiful.org. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024.
  9. ↑ Barnes, Michael (May 20, 2013). "Volunteer Linda McCoy-Shriever fights cancer and cleans up creeks". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  10. ↑ Strickland, Barbara (November 28, 2013). "Keep Austin Beautiful Looking For Volunteers To Clean Up Lady Bird Lake". Austinist. Retrieved November 20, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ "Clean Lady Bird Lake". Keep Austin Beautiful. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and Boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake | AustinTexas.gov". www.austintexas.gov. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  13. ↑ Hernandez, Emily. "Body pulled from Lady Bird Lake not ruled a homicide, police say". MySA. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Body Pulled from Austin's Lady Bird Lake, Marking Latest in a Series of Deaths". Peoplemag. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  15. ↑ https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article285445087.html [ bare URL ]
  16. ↑ Ellis, Luke (2006). "The Common Law: Boating on Town Lake – What's the Law?" March 17, 2006.
  17. ↑ "University of Wisconsin Rowers Weather the Austin Cold on Lady Bird Lake". January 7, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Austin Parks and Recreation Department, Red Bud Isle" Archived November 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ Largey, Matt. "Yup, It's Still Illegal to Swim in Lady Bird Lake. Here's Why". kut.org. KUT. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  20. ↑ Bradshaw, Kelsey. "Blue-green algae potentially harmful to dogs found in 10 spots along Lake Travis, LCRA says". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Projects Page". The Trail Foundation. November 30, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Collaboration: The Boardwalk". The Trail Foundation. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and Boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake". City of Austin, Texas. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  24. ↑ Runn, Courtney (December 23, 2017). "Here's how to have the most Austin experience on the boardwalk". Austin American-Statesman . Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  25. ↑ "The Boardwalk Trail at Lady Bird Lake". City of Austin. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Lou Neff Point Gazebo". cultureNOW. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  27. ↑ Texas Environmental Almanac ."Water Quality". Texas Environmental Almanac. ch. 2, p. 6.
  28. ↑ Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (1999). "Regulations Committee Meeting". Commission meeting transcript. November 17, 1999.
  29. ↑ City of Austin (2008). "Green Water Treatment Plant Decommissioning Ceremony Tuesday" Archived February 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine . Press Release. December 15, 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.