Lakes

Lake Buchanan

Lake Buchanan water level

The first and highest of the Highland Lakes, and with Lake Travis one of the two that store the region’s water. Its level rises and falls with rain and drought.

Lake Buchanan now

Lake Buchanan is at 1,018.4 feet above sea level, 1.6 feet below full pool, LCRA reading of Nov 14, 5:50 PM CST.

LCRA reading Nov 14, 5:50 PM CST

Past 24 hours
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Buchanan Dam releasing
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Past 7 days

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Loading the week’s readings…

At Buchanan Dam

Nov 14, 3:50 PM CST
Floodgates
Gates closed
Releasing
No current reading
Last full day
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Below the dam
887.3 ft
Without floodgates
5,940 cfsthe most it releases without opening a floodgate
LCRA on the gates:
No gate operations to pass floodwaters are expected.
Inflows:
Inflows to Lake Buchanan are below levels that would require gate operations to pass floodwaters at Buchanan Dam.
Forecast:
Expected elevation range is 1018 - 1019 ft msl over the next 24 to 48 hours.

Releases can start suddenly — stay out of the water near the dams. Unofficial copy of LCRA’s flood operations report.

Hour-by-hour releases at Buchanan Dam

Water in and out

Comes in from

Goes out to

Rivers: LCRA gauges, as of Nov 14, 3:41 PM. Dam releases: LCRA’s latest measured hour.

Lake Travis water level todayLake Buchanan’s releases end up in Lake Travis, the chain’s big reservoir.681.4 ftAbove full pool

About Lake Buchanan

Lake Buchanan is where the Colorado River leaves the open country to the northwest and enters the Highland Lakes. At full pool, 1,020 ft above sea level, it covers 22,452 acres, more surface than any other lake in the chain, and reaches 30.65 river miles up the Colorado. The San Saba River joins the Colorado upstream of the lake.

Buchanan Dam, planned as Hamilton Dam, was finished in 1938 and named for Congressman James P. Buchanan. It is the oldest dam in the chain, along with Inks Dam just downstream.

With Lake Travis, Buchanan is one of the chain’s two water-supply reservoirs. It fills in wet years and falls in dry ones as LCRA releases water for customers downstream and to help refill Lake Travis, and as summer evaporation takes its share. That is why it can sit many feet below full pool while the pass-through lakes below it stay within about a foot of their usual level.

Key facts

  • DamBuchanan Dam, 1938
  • OperatorLCRA
  • Full pool1,020 ft
  • Surface area22,452 acres
  • Capacity880,356 acre-ft (2019 survey)
  • Length30.65 river miles
  • Deepest pointAbout 132 ft
  • Record high1,021.4 ft · Dec 20, 1991
  • Record low983.7 ft · Sep 9, 1952
  • CountiesBurnet, Llano

Parks on Lake Buchanan

Public places to get on or near the water. Check each operator for hours, fees and closures before you go.

All six Highland Lakes

Upstream to downstream along the Colorado River. Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis store water; the other four pass it through.

Lake Buchanan questions

Levels, releases and how Lake Buchanan fits into the Highland Lakes.

  • What is the water level of Lake Buchanan today?

    This page shows LCRA’s latest reading from Buchanan Dam at the top, checked every 30 minutes. Full pool is 1,020 ft above mean sea level. The lake usually sits somewhat below it, because it stores water through wet years and gives it up in dry ones.

  • What is full pool at Lake Buchanan?

    1,020 ft above mean sea level. At that level the lake covers 22,452 acres and holds 880,356 acre-feet, according to the Texas Water Development Board’s 2019 survey, the figures LCRA uses.

  • What are Lake Buchanan’s record high and low?

    In LCRA’s records the highest level is 1,021.4 ft, on December 20, 1991, and the lowest is 983.7 ft, on September 9, 1952, in the drought of the 1950s.

  • Why does Lake Buchanan go up and down when Lake LBJ doesn’t?

    Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis are the two Highland Lakes that store water. LBJ and the other three pass-through lakes are held within a narrow range and pass on what comes in, so drought shows up at Buchanan and Travis instead.

  • Where does Lake Buchanan’s water go?

    Through Buchanan Dam into Inks Lake, then Lake LBJ and Lake Marble Falls, and on into Lake Travis. LCRA releases water from Buchanan to serve customers along the chain and to help refill Lake Travis.