COMAL COUNTY, Texas – As Canyon Lake’s water level continues to drop, at least one business owner says there’s an upside.
With the lake less than half full and no boat ramps open to the general public, the number of power boats on the lake is now limited to those with a slip in the lake’s marinas.
But the owner of a personal watercraft rental business says that means the lake is now more enjoyable for visitors who don’t have their own boat.
“You come out here and it’s like being on a private lake," said Jim McNew, who says the lake is now calm enough for kayakers and paddleboarders.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the ramps are still open for non-motorized vehicles.
McNew has an interest in keeping people coming to the lake. Known as the “Jet Ski Dude,” McNew rents out PWCs at Canyon Park and says he’s bringing in kayaks, paddle boats and pedal boats, as well.
As headlines have focused on the dropping lake levels, McNew says tourism has also dropped off.
“Restaurants that I’ve known for years are struggling to just pay employees,“ he said. ”I’ve got three friends in business that have closed down within the last six months."
McNew says visitors don’t realize how much of the lake is still left. Even now, the lake has about 7.8 square miles of surface area, compared to roughly 13 square miles it covers when full.
“It may not be as big as it used to be, but it’s still a lot of water,” he said.
Canyon Lake’s water level has been dropping for more than three years in the face of extended drought conditions. The lake hasn’t been full since shortly after Thanksgiving 2021, and it has been breaking record lows since August 2023.
As of Tuesday, the Texas Water Development Board said the water level was down a little more than 31 feet below the conservation pool, which most people consider full, resulting in the lake being about 46.4% full.
Now, trees poke out of now shallow waters, and brush grows on a sandbar that would normally be 20 feet below the surface. Beer cans thrown overboard by boaters decades ago bake in the sun, next to stones that haven’t been dry since the lake was first filled in the 1960s.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the loss of water in the lake is not primarily due to letting water downstream, but rather to evaporation — a problem that is likely to worsen with increasing heat.
