What is the Highland Lakes Domestic Use Contract Program?
A program for lakeside residents to obtain a contract from LCRA to pump water from the Highland Lakes. Why is LCRA managing this program? The Highland Lakes, including lakes Buchanan, Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls, Travis and Austin, are an important source of water for cities, industry, agriculture and the environment throughout the basin. As steward of this valuable but finite resource, LCRA has the responsibility to carefully conserve, manage and account for the use of water from the lakes. This becomes increasingly important during drought. Lakeside residents wishing to take water from the lakes must first have a contract with LCRA or have other legal authorization to take water from the lakes under state law. How much does water cost under an LCRA domestic use contract? The current annual rate for domestic water is $151 per acre-foot of water (325,851 gallons) and is based on the current firm raw water rate typically charged to municipal and industrial customers. The contracts are from
