LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — Scott Calame noticed the change in his local lake some weeks ago. The Leander resident walks the shores of Lakewood Park regularly. A popular neighborhood lake, its shores are lined with spots for fishing, boating and grilling.
“It’s shocking really. This park is kind of a crown jewel park for the city of Leander,” Calame said.
Scott noticed the water level dropping. Parts of the shore that were once underwater, now several feet from the water line. The city of Leander was told by the group that manages the lake, the Upper Brushy Creek Water Control and Improvement District (WCID), that the water would not drop any further and would reflow through rain and natural inflows.
The rain came, but now Calame says the water is lower than before.
Lakewood Park is located northeast of U.S. 183, south of Crystal Falls Parkway. The highlight of the park is the 40-acre pond on the south side of the park: Lake Lakewood.
After the July 4th floods, much of the park was underwater. In the month since then, the water has dropped lower and lower.
“It’s an absolutely beautiful day, perfect weather. And you would expect a lot of people out here, especially since school is out right now,” said Leander Mayor Pro Tem Na’cole Thompson.
On November 3, a press release from the WCID said that during maintenance in September, the WCID discovered “that an unauthorized manipulation to the intake structure kept the lake levels artificially higher than designed.”
The WCID said that the manipulation occurred sometime after 2018, when a video inspection showed the dam acting as intended. The WCID said the lake was four feet higher than it should be and they have “restored the lake’s designed flood capacity and its capacity to protect public safety by minimizing downstream flooding.”
“If they’re saying that this is where it should be. I simply don’t believe that,” Calame said.
“We’re in communication trying to figure out what the next steps needs to be,” Thompson said. “We’ve got to be advocates for what we need in our city and what we need in our parks.”
According to the city of Leander, the lake was designed for a maximum elevation of 877 feet and a minimum of 873 feet. The city said that until August 2025, the WCID had maintained an average daily water level at 877 feet. Levels dropped to 876 feet in September.
“I’ve been coming here for probably two or three years now, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen it like this,” said Michelle Schoen, a local who frequently walks the trails, back on Oct. 2.
At the time, water had receded from the shore several feet. The harbor used for fishing, usually surrounded by water, had a small amount of the lake beneath it.
“This whole bay area here is (usually) completely covered and there’s no mud, you wouldn’t be able to see any mud,” Michelle said.
According to the city, the WCID’s maintenance contractor was doing work on nearby dams and lowering the lake levels to control the water. However, the water at Lakeview Park dropped lower than planned.
The WCID manages 23 dams across Williamson County. All of the dams are older than fifty years old. The Lake Lakewood dam was built in 1962. It is the district’s largest water storage location.
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