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LCRA offers flood operations notifications by phone or email

Open floodgates at Max Starcke Dam in Marble Falls in May 2015. Staff photo by Jared Fields

Open floodgates at Max Starcke Dam in Marble Falls in May 2015. Staff photo by Jared Fields

FROM STAFF REPORTS

MARBLE FALLS — With the spring months traditionally among the wettest of the year for the Highland Lakes, the Lower Colorado River Authority is encouraging residents to sign up for free notifications of LCRA flood operations.

“The Highland Lakes sit in the middle of ‘Flash Flood Alley,’ and flooding along the lakes and lower Colorado River can occur without much advance notice,” said John Hofmann, the LCRA executive vice president of water. “We’re blessed to have full lakes this spring, and rain in the watershed could prompt us to move to flood operations very quickly. We encourage everyone to be prepared for the possibility of flooding and subscribe to the LCRA (Flood Operations Notification Service) to help stay aware of changing conditions along the Highland Lakes and lower Colorado River.”

LCRA’s FONS will call, text, and/or email subscribers when flood operations begin at dams along the Highland Lakes or Bastrop Dam in Bastrop County. The Highland Lakes are Buchanan, Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls, Travis, and Austin.

Officials will activate the FONS system when flood operations are imminent or underway at Buchanan, Inks, Wirtz, Max Starcke, Mansfield, Tom Miller, or Bastrop dams. Inks Dam doesn’t have floodgates and is designed for floodwaters to pass over its spillway. FONS is activated for Inks Dam when water flows continuously over the designated spillway.

FONS is not a flood warning system but a flood operations notification.

When flood operations begin at the dams, flows downstream will be higher and swifter, and anyone nearby should exercise caution and take measures to protect people and property.

To register for FONS, complete the online form at lcra.org/FONS or call LCRA at (512) 578-3246. It only takes about two minutes to register and subscriptions will remain valid through March 31, 2019.

editor@thepicayune.com