The Future of Medina Lake

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About 40 miles northwest of San Antonio, Texas, lies Medina Lake, an 18-mile long reservoir where boats commonly cruise along the open water on Saturday afternoons. 

The rains haven’t come in a while. The water receded greatly over the summer months, leaving a vast expanse of small limestone boulders and thick mud in its wake. Once submerged, a 130-foot boat ramp leading into the lake now lies completely exposed. The concrete lip at its edge, which usually can be found only by wading in, bakes in the afternoon sun. 

Located in the Hill Country region of Central Texas, Medina Lake spans Medina and Bandera Counties and provides a significant amount of economic revenue for the area through its waterfront restaurants and businesses. Visitors often eat at the 4 Way Bar and Grill or La Cabana Cafe, shop around for a home or a lake house, or take water skiing lessons at Wally’s Watersports or the Medina Ski School.

Medina Dam has enjoyed a spot on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. The community of Mico—an acronym for the Medina Irrigation Company, which was responsible for the dam’s construction in the early 1900s—boasts a handful of bars, a bed and breakfast, an old church, and a post office, all against the backdrop of the 164-foot tall structure and the crystalline water it contains.

On the other side of Lake Medina rests Lakehills, home to many beautiful lakefront properties and the annual Medina Lake Cajun Festival, which attracts visitors from all around the lake and from as far as San Antonio.

No matter where you travel around the lake, one thing is certain: everyone there depends on it for something. 

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Farmers in the area depend on the lake’s many channels and runoffs to irrigate corn, grains, cotton, hay, and vegetables. The total market value of the area’s agricultural production is roughly $94 million, according to the Texas Almanac. Scientists study the water quality and the fish populations. And countless more businesses depend upon Medina Lake purely for the tourists it brings.

A 2019 joint study by American and Chinese scientists found that the severity of the El Niño and La Niña climate events, which impact precipitation patterns across the globe, are exacerbated by climate change. Right now, La Niña, the dryer counterpart, is sweeping across the southern United States and does not bode well for Medina Lake.

Already hard-hit by the region’s ongoing summer drought, the Texas Water Development Board found that the lake’s mean water level had dropped 23.5 percent between April and October. This year’s La Niña event will likely make the shoreline fall even lower than before.

The lake’s water levels are responsible for the community’s livelihood. Lower levels will have severe impacts on crop production in the region. Less water will also devastate aquatic ecosystems. Homeowners’ wells, which draw upon the lakewater, risk running dry in drought and leaving households without running or drinking water.

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This series will examine local businesses’ continued dependence upon Medina Lake in spite of the drought, as well as the efforts of the Save Medina Lake project, working tirelessly to educate all those affected about the impending consequences of low water levels.

Art by Lauren Head

Photos by Maya Wray

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