After years of decline, one Texas lake is nearly full again.
Lake Travis, a 65-mile-long reservoir on the Colorado River near Austin, rose to 99 percent of capacity on Monday, just one foot below what's considered full for the waterway. Over the past decade, the lake has steadily declined as the Lone Star State has been stuck in the throes of a severe drought.
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Boater Jim Pilotto tells Austin television station KVUE he's seen more work on the lake now, more people coming out and more people buying boats. Nearly a dozen boat ramps shut and businesses struggled during the drought.
Statewide, reservoirs monitored by the Texas Water Development Board are nearly 87 percent full thanks to abundant rains. That's almost 20 percentage points higher than a year ago.
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