When the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) received its water right from the state in 1988, it incurred an obligation to prepare a Water Management Plan (WMP) for the Colorado River basin. The first such plan was published the following year. The first WMP showed how the available water in the basin was to be allocated among cities, industry, agriculture and recreation.

Included in the plan was a section on economic activity up and down the river. The rice industry was described as an important industry generating upwards of $60 million in annual revenue. The economy of the Highland Lakes was described in terms of (1) the growth of fishing license applications in Burnet County, (2) the growth of boat registrations in Travis County, and (3) $2 million per year of economic activity related to the Inks Lake State Park.
 

It was obvious to most readers that this description ignored the scores of marinas, hotels and restaurants, as well as the extensive residential development, around the lakes. The fact that LCRA management would have approved this inadequate description of the Highland Lakes economy did serve a purpose, however. It illustrated how little attention was paid to the lakes economy when LCRA made water management decisions.