Travis County, TX Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Approving authority
- Travis County Executive
- Lake Travis setback
- 100 ft (75 ft single-family) from 681.0 ft MSL
- Lake Austin setback
- 100 ft (75 ft single-family) from 492.8 ft MSL
- Application filed under
- Sec. 482.931 permit submittal
- Small-lot rule
- No dock access on lots ≤ 5,750 sq ft in setback
- Civil penalty
- Up to $1,000 per day per violation
Summary
Travis County requires County Executive approval before any access route or appurtenance to a boat dock, pier, wharf, or marina crosses the mandatory waterway setback along Lake Travis, Lake Austin, or the Colorado River below Lady Bird Lake. The setback itself runs 100 feet inland from the shoreline, or 75 feet for a detached single-family lot.
The County Executive may approve necessary access and appurtenances to a boat dock, pier, wharf, or marina, along the Colorado River downstream from Lady Bird Lake and along Lake Travis and Lake Austin, except along the shoreline in the setback of a swale, creek, or river. The access and appurtenances must follow a route through the setback area and a design that minimizes short-term and long-term erosion and runoff impacts, minimizes the clearing of vegetation, and minimizes additional impervious cover.
5. The County Executive may approve a park development that is limited to trails, picnic facilities, open space, and similar construction only if:
A. the construction plans show it will not alter existing vegetation and drainage patterns or increase erosion;
B. it is outside the erosion hazard zone;
C. the use of a fertilizer, pesticide, and herbicide is prohibited except that incidental use may be allowed if a pest management program demonstrates it will prevent pollutant discharges to the maximum extent practicable; and
D. the construction plans do not include a stable or corral for animals.
6. Floodplain in a Waterway Setback
A. An application for development is also subject to the requirements of Chapter 464 of the Code, relating to development restrictions in a floodplain.
B. Drainage retention basins are permitted in a waterway setback if they comply with the requirements of Chapter 464 of the Code.
C.
Full Breakdown
Travis County Code Sec. 8 feet mean sea level for Lake Austin. The setback width is 100 feet measured horizontally inland, reduced to 75 feet for a detached single-family residential use. Inside that setback, Sec. 941(i) bars construction, development, and other alterations except approved utility and roadway crossings; wastewater lines and lift stations running parallel to the waterway are flatly prohibited, and no golf courses, on-site sewage systems, or wastewater irrigation may sit within it. Boat dock access is carved out as a specific exception under Sec.
941(j)(4): the County Executive may approve necessary access and appurtenances to a dock, pier, wharf, or marina along the Colorado River downstream of Lady Bird Lake and along Lakes Travis and Austin, but not along the shoreline setback of a feeding swale, creek, or river. Any such crossing must minimize erosion and runoff impacts, minimize vegetation clearing, and minimize added impervious cover, and the request must be filed as part of the development permit application package required under Sec. 931. A separate residential-lot rule reinforces the limit: no part of a lot of 5,750 square feet or smaller may be located within a waterway setback at all, which affects where a shoreline lot can even place a dock-access easement.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 482.104(b) makes an unpermitted crossing of a waterway setback, including unapproved boat dock access, a violation of the county's storm water management requirements. Travis County can seek a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation, with every day a violation continues counted as a separate violation, and may sue in district court to enjoin the activity or recover that penalty. The section also declares a resulting discharge to the storm sewer system a nuisance and makes the violator liable for the cost of abating or remediating any damaged property, water, or wildlife habitat, plus the county's attorney fees and court costs in an enforcement suit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need county approval to build a boat dock on Lake Travis?
How far back from the shoreline is the waterway setback?
Can I run a wastewater line to a boathouse through the setback?
What happens if I build dock access without approval?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Travis County
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Travis County to another location·View the Texas environmental rules overview
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