Lakes

Lake LBJ

Lake LBJ water level

A pass-through lake LCRA keeps between 824.4 and 825.0 ft, where the Llano River joins the Colorado at Kingsland. It moves when the rivers flood, not with drought.

Lake LBJ now

Lake LBJ is at 824.6 feet above sea level, within its normal range of 824.4–825.0 feet, LCRA reading of Nov 14, 5:50 PM CST.

LCRA reading Nov 14, 5:50 PM CST

Past 24 hours
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Wirtz Dam releasing
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Past 7 days

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Loading the week’s readings…

At Wirtz Dam

Nov 14, 3:50 PM CST
Floodgates
Gates closed
Releasing
No current reading
Last full day
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Below the dam
740.5 ft
Without floodgates
10,500 cfsthe most it releases without opening a floodgate
LCRA on the gates:
No gate operations to pass floodwaters are expected.
Inflows:
Inflows to Lake LBJ are below levels that would require gate operations to pass floodwaters at Wirtz Dam.
Forecast:
The level of Lake LBJ is expected to remain within its normal operating range.

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 Wirtz 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 LBJ’s releases end up in Lake Travis, the chain’s big reservoir.681.4 ftAbove full pool

About Lake LBJ

Lake LBJ fills about 21 river miles of the Colorado between Inks Dam and Wirtz Dam, and the Llano River joins it at Kingsland. It was finished in 1951 as Lake Granite Shoals and renamed for President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. Its dam, first Granite Shoals Dam, has carried Alvin J. Wirtz’s name since 1952.

LCRA runs Lake LBJ as a pass-through lake between 824.4 and 825.0 ft, so the waterfronts at Horseshoe Bay, Kingsland, Granite Shoals and Sunrise Beach keep their water through droughts that empty coves on Lake Travis. The lake also cools LCRA’s Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant.

The level does move. A Llano River flood can lift the lake quickly, and LCRA lowers it now and then so owners can repair docks and shoreline and to control nuisance vegetation.

Key facts

  • DamAlvin J. Wirtz Dam, 1951
  • OperatorLCRA
  • Normal range824.4–825.0 ft
  • Surface area6,432 acres
  • Capacity131,618 acre-ft (2020 survey)
  • Length21.15 river miles
  • Deepest pointAbout 90 ft
  • Record high836.2 ft · Sep 11, 1952
  • Record low793.8 ft · Nov 16, 1970
  • CountiesBurnet, Llano

Parks on Lake LBJ

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 LBJ questions

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

  • What is the water level of Lake LBJ today?

    This page shows LCRA’s latest reading from Wirtz Dam at the top, checked every 30 minutes. LCRA holds Lake LBJ between 824.4 and 825.0 ft above mean sea level outside floods and planned lowerings.

  • Is Lake LBJ a constant-level lake?

    LCRA calls it a pass-through lake rather than constant-level. It is held within a narrow range, 824.4 to 825.0 ft, and has no extra room to store floodwater, so it passes on what comes in. Its level can still change, especially when the Llano River floods.

  • Why is Lake LBJ full when Lake Travis is low?

    Only Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis store water for drought. LCRA keeps Lake LBJ in its narrow range and sends the rest downstream, so a dry spell lowers Buchanan and Travis while LBJ stays where it is.

  • Does LCRA lower Lake LBJ?

    Occasionally. LCRA lowers the pass-through lakes so owners can repair docks and shoreline structures and to control nuisance vegetation, and announces each lowering on its lake lowerings page. It had none planned for Lake LBJ in 2026.

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

    In LCRA’s records the highest level is 836.2 ft, on September 11, 1952, and the lowest is 793.8 ft, on November 16, 1970.

  • What was Lake LBJ called before?

    Lake Granite Shoals. It was renamed for President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. Its dam, first called Granite Shoals Dam, was renamed for Alvin J. Wirtz in 1952.