That’s not enough water. We need more water. Look, water! Okay, we’ve got plenty of water.
ENOUGH WITH THE WATER!?!
As the Lake Travis area starts to deal with the aftermath of the historic flood, things look normal in some parts of the community, but other parts are still submerged. Flood victims are dealing with destroyed homes and businesses. Rain is in the forecast. Then the boil water notice happened. No matter where you turn, there’s water drama in Lake Travis.
That said, let’s have a little fun today. If you can’t laugh, you just keep crying …
Boil water notice is not instantaneous death
More history was made this week with the first-ever, city-wide boil water notice for Austin, TX.
Austin Water, Crossroads MUDs No. 11, No. 12 and No.13 sent the boil notice on Tuesday morning. They also asked people to reduce their water use as much as possible. In the notice, it said they needed to take these measures to “allow treatment plant operations to stabilize.”
Chaos ensued.
By late afternoon, local news was streaming footage of lines at Costco and H-E-B employees moving huge palettes of water. Talking heads gave you very clear messaging: Don’t worry hysterical people, you’ll be okay.
Uhm, it just needs to be boiled, hence the name “Boil Water Notice.”
“Do not drink the water without boiling it first. Bring all water to a rolling boil for at least three minutes, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, food preparation, and water for pets.”
In the Lake Travis area, many residents were unaffected by the notice because Lakeway Municipal Utility District, Hurst Creek MUD, and Water Control and Improvement District No. 17 (WCID 17) were all fine, although some area schools in Lake Travis ISD did get the notice.
Even if you weren’t part of the boil water notice, many of you lost your minds anyway and started frantically buying water.
Why panic? Because that’s how we roll in the bubble, duh.
Look ma; it’s Lakeway lookie-loos
Before the flood waters even started to recede, the unbelievable scene at Lakeway City Park became a must-see for lookie-loos near and far. Yes, it was an astonishing sight and indeed a unique opportunity to see history in the making.
But, at night? You could see people walking around with flashlights and children while the flood water was still rising. In all seriousness, the sun had set, and it was dark — ya know, nighttime — and the parking lot was still full. It wasn’t trucks and utility vehicles either; it was just ordinary people in regular vehicles.
“Grab your waders, kids! We’re gonna see what it looks like after dark because Texans know complete darkness is the optimal viewing condition for a flood. And the safest!”
Nobody wants a flood-scented candle
Oddly enough, as Mansfield Dam was releasing a raging river, it was making headlines for a different reason. It smelled bad. Hats off to KVUE for their amazing wordsmith skills in that article. Anyway, despite major disaster status, the odor was equally concerning.
Steiner Ranch residents were like, “Thanks for the dam operations and stuff, but could you Febreeze that? Maybe their Hawaiian Aloha scent would work since it’s like tropical and vacation-y. Perhaps someone will donate their agricultural aircraft and LCRA can gently mist the Steiner area?”
Should “dam freshening” be one of Febreeze’s unexpected 20 uses? Hmm.
Those are floating balls of fire ants
I heard about floating fire ant clusters in flood water back when Hurricane Katrina happened, but I hadn’t seen it until now. After the flood wave came into town last Tuesday night, I spotted clusters of what looked like brown dirt floating all over Lake Travis on Wednesday and Thursday. If you looked closely, you could tell the dirt was moving.
Holy human surfboards, Batman! It’s clumps of fire ants stuck together and crawling all over each other (and larvae) floating on the water. We poked them with a stick, and it didn’t even phase them. It just made them angrier. They were like, “Bring it, stupid humans, ‘cuz we’re ticked off, and we’re gonna rage as soon as we touch something or someone.” We ran.
So you’re saying it’s all good now
The Lake Travis community is dealing with more rain in the forecast and clean-up and rebuilding. Don’t forget; there are still homeowners and business owners with property underwater at this moment.
That’s why it’s utterly hilarious when non-Lake Travis folks ask us, “So, everything’s okay now?”
And we’re like, “Yes, the self-cleaning water magically receded up Lake Travis, and up the dams and heck, it went all the way back over the Starcke Dam. It glued all of the boats, docks, and homes back together, it repaired the 2900 bridge and it even wrote a cute apology note on this adorable stationery. We forgave it.”
The good news is, one day this will all be water under the bridge. Er…
I mean, eventually, it will all sink in… Nope. Nevermind.
Be well, friends! We’ll get through this together, Lake Travis! Follow Lake Travis Lifestyle on Facebook and Instagram for photos, videos, and updates.
