For 22 years Mary Miner has worked high above Lake Travis at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. The view from her window is amazing, but this is the first time it has ever looked so empty.
The Sometimes Islands have popped up now that the lake is so low.
"Sometimes they're they're and sometimes they're not and this is the biggest I've seen them," Mary Miner said.
The reason the islands are so prominent is because Lake Travis hasn't been this low in December since 1964.
And on Dec. 4, 1964, the level of Lake Travis was 643.4 feet above sea level, a little more than half a foot below the lake's Dec. 4, 2006, elevation of 644.1 feet, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority.
The 644-foot elevation is not unusual for Lake Travis, given the drought-and-flood cycle that affects the lower Colorado River basin. The lake was at an even lower elevation in October 2000 before the fall rains came. But the lake's current level is exceptional for this time of year.
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Low lake levels
Lake Travis is just over 644 feet, 25 feet lower than it should be.
 
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"Not only have we had a very dry year, we have had a very dry fall," LCRA meteorologist Bob Rose said.
On Monday, the LCRA said Lake Travis was just over 644 feet, 25 feet lower than it should be.
"We really never got those fall rains that we typically see here
that produce quite a bit of runoff and generally raise the level of
the lake by several feet," Rose said.
Because the rains never came, conserving water has never
been more important. Lakes Travis and Buchanan are the primary sources of drinking water for Austin and other communities.
"This is a finite source of water. It's our source that we will
have to be using until the heavy rains return," Rose added.
There might be some relief on the way. Rain could come from the El Niño weather pattern that has emerged but has yet to change the region's dry conditions.El Nĩno usually brings higher than average rainfall in the fall and winter.
Barring major rains, LCRA expects Travis to drop another foot in the next 60 days to 643 feet
The all-time low for Lake Travis, 614.2 feet, occurred in August 1951.
