Lakes & Lakefront Property Drying Up As Drought Continues

HOOD COUNTY (CBS 11 NEWS) - There is no escaping the signs of the plummeting lake levels in Granbury.  Boat ramps are landlocked, islands and debris are appearing everywhere, and boat docks are high and dry.

Many boats in the area have been left dangling in harnesses, above rocks revealed by receding water. As it stands lake levels have dropped 11 feet below normal levels.

Everyone looking at businesses and homeowners on the lakefront are thinking the same thing. "People are spending a lot of money building their homes here and have to pay the taxes and they're getting none of the benefits," noticed Greg Heskill, who was in town visiting a Granbury resident.

"Its sickening!" exclaimed Bobbie Morin, who has lived in the city since the 1980's.  "I'm glad I'm not on the lake so I don't have to worry about a boat or anything."

Everyone agrees the drought conditions are possibly something for the history books.

"I've never seen it like this," said lakefront homeowner Susanne Woods. "We moved here in 1977.  It was a beautiful lake. The water has been down a little, up a little but we always had water."

Woods went from eight feet of water at her back door to 50 yards of lakebed.  Her pier is now a high-rise porch and she thinks property values have plummeted along with the water line.

"Maybe somebody wouldn't want to buy here knowing, 'Hey, when is the lake going to come back? When would I be able to use any of my boats?' I think it would be affected if you try to sell.  Some of my neighbors have said that we're not selling now because property values are down."

County officials say they've seen a surge in the number of people protesting their property tax valuations. The actions increased as water levels dropped.

Business owners are not only complaining about property taxes, they're also losing profits from boaters who in the past would dock and shop.

"That's about a third of our business in the summer," explained Cherlon Childress, who manages a restaurant on the waterfront. "Oh man, we're going to need a miracle -- probably about 12 feet! We're going to need a flood."

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