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Heavy rains slow lake drain

Lake Buchanan

A photo of Lake Buchanan before the current drought began draining the reservoir. Recent rains over the Colorado River watershed has brought back some inflow. Staff photo

Heavy rains across the Colorado River watershed have increased the amount of water flowing into Lake Buchanan from zero to 827 cubic-feet per second. The lake dropped nearly one foot per week over the summer, but that rate has slowed down thanks to a now-rushing Colorado River. The Llano River at Llano, Sandy Creek near Kingsland, and the Pedernales River near Johnson City are still at zero flow. 

The Lower Colorado River Authority is reporting that 810 cubic-feet per second of water is flowing through a river gauge located in Bend as of Sept. 18. This is the last gauge on the Colorado River before it swells into Lake Buchanan. The river ceased flowing at all in late July after months of trickling between 3 cfs and 20 cfs, meaning little to no water was making it into Buchanan over the summer.

The lack of inflows took a toll on the lake, reducing its surface elevation by nearly one foot per week throughout August and bringing it to its current level of 993.39 feet above mean sea level. When full, the lake sits at about 1,018 feet above msl. Its all-time low was recorded in September 1952 at 983.7 feet msl. 

The current surge in the Colorado River can be attributed to several inches of rain that fell across the river’s watershed over the past two weeks. The immediate area around Lake Buchanan saw 1-3 inches of rainfall since Sept. 4, but the expansive network of rivers, creeks, and tributaries of the Colorado farther north and west saw 3-6 inches in that same timeframe, according to the LCRA’s Hydromet data.

At the time of this story’s publication, Lake Buchanan was still down from its previous seven-day level of 993.57 feet above msl, but the massive inflows from the Colorado only began on Sept. 17, meaning there is a chance the lake will begin rising in feet above mean sea level instead of steadily dropping. 

dakota@thepicayune.com

1 thought on “Heavy rains slow lake drain

  1. Why would you waste your time as well as mine, printing something like this? Check the flow today. How long did the “surge” last?

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