LCRA: Stay off lakes for now
Lake LBJ at Boat Town in Kingsland on July 4. Staff photo by David Bean
UPDATE: The LCRA plans to open floodgates at Wirtz Dam and Starcke Dam shortly after noon Monday, July 7, to release storm runoff flowing into Lake LBJ from the Llano River. The runoff will flow from Lake LBJ into Lake Marble Falls and then into Lake Travis. Flows downstream will be fast and water levels will be higher than usual downstream of the dams. Take action to protect people and property that may be affected.
PREVIOUS STORY: The Lower Colorado River Authority is advising the public to stay off of lakes Buchanan, Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls, and Travis for the next several days, citing debris, fast-moving currents, and higher-than-normal bacteria levels following the Fourth of July flood.
“Safety is our top priority, and it’s not safe to be on the lakes now under the conditions we’re seeing,” said LCRA Executive Vice President of Water John Hofmann in a July 7 media release. “We’ll continue to evaluate the lakes daily and will let you know when conditions improve enough for us to remove the advisory.”
The lakes will remain open, however.
The LCRA does not have floodgate operations underway at this time, but with additional rain in the Central Texas forecast, it is possible that could change later in the day. Land across the Hill County is saturated, and additional rainfall will result in more storm runoff. Over the Fourth of July weekend, LCRA had flood operations at Inks, Wirtz, Starcke, Tom Miller, and Lake Bastrop dams.
LAKE LEVELS UP
Since July 3, Lake Buchanan has risen more than 7 feet and Lake Travis more than 18 feet. Current projections show Lake Buchanan is expected to rise an additional 5-6 feet and Lake Travis 2-3 feet.