Sam Chapman

New water restrictions were announced today for communities south of Austin. San Marcos, New Braunfels San Antonio and parts of the southern Austin area other communities draw water from the Edwards Aquifer. The Edwards is huge, but these cities and others pull huge amounts of water out of it. Without much in the way of rain since last June, the level of the aquifer is dropping steadily. With no rain in sight and continued high demand, the Edwards Aquifer Authority called for a 20% reduction in water usage. Lake Travis, another significant source for drinking water, is also dropping steadily. That is just the beginning of this story.

Several areas will see stifled growth because of lack of water. These area include the area just talked about, a stretch between the city of Bee Cave and Marble Falls and parts of the northwestern Austin area. I have posted about the area west of Bee Cave running along Highway 71 on my Austin real estate blog in the past. That was back when the LCRA seemed to have agreements with at least one subdivision, West Cypress Hills, to provide water. There were plans shown on the LCRA website showing future water lines out in the area. Now that all seems to have changed.

The LCRA took water out as far as Bee Creek Road to provide water for the Sweetwater Lazy 9 subdivision. Beyond that, developers will need to find water. The best way to do this is to secure water rights from the LCRA and build a treatment plant, but could be cost prohibitive. The other way to do this is to provide money for infrastructure to the LCRA and have them build another plant. For now and for the foreseeable future, the LCRA has no plans to provide more capacity.

The area to the northwest is in a similar situation. Although Round Rock, Cedar Park and Leander have plans with the LCRA for two large intake pipes into Lake Travis, there will still not be enough water to sustain growth in some areas. So what does this mean for developers? It means that they will go east.

There is plenty of land east of Austin for development and this area has sources for water. State Highway 130, which loops around to the east of Austin, has already promoted a lot of development. Although not as desirable as the area to the west with the hills and Lake Travis, this is the place to develop and it is all because of water. This should make the Hill Country Alliance and many others happy pleased as they have fought any growth at all west of Bee Cave.

Getting back to the Hwy 71 area, there are projects out there that will do well. One is the Reserve at Lake Travis. Situated on 300 acres with some of the homes sites having Lake Travis frontage, this development was made possible because of a water agreement with a neighboring development. The Coves at Lake Travis have wells that produce a lot of water. Developer of the Reserve, Hal Jones, told me two weeks ago about the source of their water. I was surprised, but pleased, to hear of the source being wells. High-end developments like the Reserve will do well as people with money looking for second homes have discovered Lake Travis.

There are many ranches between Bee Cave and Marble Falls that would be wonderful for high-end residential developments, but that won't happen without water. Anyone lucky enough to secure water rights could be sitting on gold if they do the development properly. This would mean large home sites and a lot of green space. This would also mean managing development very carefully so the area would not see ecological damage.

So for the coming years, don't look for a lot of new developments in part of the Austin area and look for a lot to happen east of the city.

There is plenty to do in Austin, but what about recreation outside the city, but within a reasonable drive? There are plenty of places to visit.

If you want to stay relatively close to Austin, take a drive out Hamilton Pool Road and visit Hamilton Pool Preserve. Formed when a cave partially collapsed, Hamilton Pool is a Hill Country treasure. An 80 foot waterfall plunges into the pool below. The pool is shaded much of the day by the remains of the cave. Walking around under the rock grotto, you will scurry around and over boulders. Looking up, you will see ferns growing out of the rock where water trickles through it. As the creek leaves the pool, it flows down the valley and feeds many huge cypress trees before spilling into the Pedernales River.

Just a few miles past the turnoff for Hamilton Pool and across the Pedernales River is Westcave Preserve. Westcave Preserve is similar to Hamilton Pool in that there is a large grotto and the end of a box canyon. Visiting Westcave Preserve is a as much a nature lesson as it is a hike in the woods. As your group is being lead by a guide into the canyon, she will show you different plants and animals in addition to talking about the geology of the canyon.

Want something a bit farther, but still within an hour of Austin? Try Pedernales Falls State Park. This is an area where the Pedernales River cascades down a series of rapids and small waterfalls. It is a pretty easy hike to the river, but once there you can walk and climb on various rock formations. People are not allowed in the river at the falls, but there is another area below the falls that is dedicated for swimming and splashing around in the water.

If you want to drive a bit farther, visit Enchanted Rock State Park out near Fredericksburg. Enchanted Rock is a huge granite dome rising out of the hills. The hike to the top is relatively simple if you take the route most people take. There is also a more technical area for rock climbing. There are small caves close to the top of Enchanted Rock.

Besides spending money on gas to get to these Hill Country favorites, the cost to enter each is small. If you visit in the summer, take sunscreen and water. If you visit in the spring, make sure to check the weather. Heavy rain will either close these places or will make them difficult to access.

Questions about real estate in Austin? Contact Sam.

On the north side of Lake Travis, just northwest of Austin, is Lago Vista. There is a lot of value in this small town. As other areas around Lake Travis become more developed, Lago Vista is looking more and more attractive. Check out eight reasons to love Lago Vista, Texas.

1. Highway 183A. This toll road was just completed and has cut the commute time to downtown Austin by a good 20 minutes. Texas 45 splits off 183A and has made Round Rock very a much quicker commute as well.

2. Great schools. OK, you can look up the ratings yourself, but the three schools in the district are quite good. They are also known for having a pretty low student to teacher ratio, which many parents and educators alike enjoy.

3. Relatively low property taxes. In an part of the Austin area known for having an over 3% property tax rate, thanks largely to the Leander ISD, the rate in Lago Vista is less than 2.4%.

4. The Rusty Allen airport. Not only is this a nice airstrip, but at 3,808 feet in length it is long enough to accommodate small jets. Private pilots wanting to own a second home close to Austin on a lake love it.
5. Golf courses - three of them. There are two 18 hole courses within Lago Vista and a 9 hole course in Point Venture, which is just minutes away.

6. A grocery store. This might sound silly, but it isn't. Super S opened a 25,000 square foot grocery store in Lago Vista recently. Before that you would need to drive 20 or so minutes to the HEB in Cedar Park. Super S just added a lot of value to the area.

7. Strict zoning - this is both good and bad. The good news is that there isn't much commercial space available, which should keep Lago Vista feeling like a small town. The bad news is that there aren't many places for nice restaurants to build.

8. Lake Travis - need I say more? Lake Travis is the premier recreation lake in Central Texas and Lago Vista sits right on the north shore. Lots of waterfront homes and a number of good marinas make Lago Vista very attractive for Lake Travis waterfront home buyers.

Learn more about Austin real estate and Lake Travis real estate.

Which Austin area schools are the best? That is a question anyone buying a home in the Austin area should be asking. It doesn't matter whether or not you have kids because when you resell your house, most buyers will be concerned about schools.

So how do you define which schools are the best? You start by looking at the entire district. You might also start by looking at private schools if you are inclined to do that. This article will focus on the public sector. In Texas, schools and districts are rated by the Texas Education Agency or TEA. The TEA has a very general rating system based on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests, or TAKS. TAKS rating run from top to bottom as Exemplary, Recognized, Academically Acceptable Academically and Unacceptable. Although most people start with these and some stop with these ratings, there is much more to a school or district than this most basic rating.

Take the Lake Travis Independent School District (LTISD) for example. LTISD has a rating of Acceptable. The high school is and one elementary are Acceptable, one middle school is recognized and the other is exemplary and four elementary schools are Exemplary. So why is the district Acceptable? LTISD has around 12% of its population classified as economically disadvantaged. Many of these kids have not lived in the area long enough to have good English skills. Without good English skills, not enough of them can pass the TAKS test, dropping the high school and district to Acceptable.

If you look more closely, you will see that the high school has excellent programs in their various Institutes of Study. LTHS also has outstanding programs in sports, theater, music, debate as well as many very active clubs involving community service and other things. These are the kind of things you want to look at when trying to decide which schools you want your kids in. So how do you get beyond this most basic rating?

The main point here is that when looking at schools, you need to dig deeper than the TAKS test results. You can go to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website to look at more ratings. Visit two of their pages here and here. You can also contact school districts and ask about educational, sports and extra-curricular activities.

As far as area districts, the best all around district is Eanes. Lake Travis is probably second with Dripping Springs very close to Lake Travis. From there you will want to look at Leander and then Round Rock. As for the Austin ISD, it fares as many large city districts do. You really have to study area by area and school by school. The best Austin ISD schools seem to be in the southwest part of town Austin.

If you are buying real estate in Austin, do your homework. Do some internet research and contact the district offices and individual schools. With a little effort, you will know right where you want to be.

There is plenty to do in Austin, but what about recreation outside the city, but within a reasonable drive? There are plenty of places to visit.

If you want to stay relatively close to Austin, take a drive out Hamilton Pool road and visit Hamilton Pool Preserve. Formed when a cave partially collapsed, Hamilton Pool is a Hill Country treasure. An 80 foot waterfall plunges into the pool below. The pool is shaded much of the day by the remains of the cave. Walking around under the rock grotto, you will scurry around and over boulders. Looking up, you will see ferns growing out of the rock where water trickles through it. As the creek leaves the pool, it flows down the valley and feeds many huge cypress trees before spilling into the Pedernales River. Check out some Hamilton Pool photos.

Just a few miles past the turnoff for Hamilton Pool and across the Pedernales River is Westcave Preserve. Westcave Preserve is similar to Hamilton Pool in that there is a large grotto and the end of a box canyon. Visiting Westcave Preserve is a as much a nature lesson as it is a hike in the woods. As your group is being lead by a guide into the canyon, she will show you different plants and animals in addition to talking about the geology of the canyon.

Want something a bit farther, but still within an hour of Austin? Try Pedernales Falls State Park. This is an area where the Pedernales River cascades down a series of rapids and small waterfalls. It is a pretty easy hike to the river, but once there you can walk and climb on various rock formations. People are not allowed in the river at the falls, but there is another area below the falls that is dedicated for swimming and splashing around in the water.

If you want to drive a bit farther, visit Enchanted Rock State Park out near Fredericksburg. Enchanted Rock is a huge granite dome rising out of the hills. The hike to the top is relatively simple if you take the route most people take. There is also a more technical area for rock climbing. There are small caves close to the top of Enchanted Rock.

Besides spending money on gas to get to these Hill Country favorites, the cost to enter each is small. If you visit in the summer, take sunscreen and water. If you visit in the spring, make sure to check the weather. Heavy rain will either close these places or will make them difficult to access.

Learn more about Austin recreation.