Tag Archives: LCRA

Floodin for real

Posted on June 27, 2007 | Comments Off on Floodin for real

I stare at the LCRA automated rain guages site entry for Marble Falls in disbelief. Seventeen point three nine inches of rain since midnight? The Llano River flowing at 52,871 cubic feet per second? The Pedernales River at 17,548? Lake Travis at 688.31, which means seven inches feet above full and the start of flooding out there on a grand scale. Two floodgates are open on Mansfield Dam with probably more to come, making shore life downstream on Lake Austin unpleasant as well. It’s hard even to get into the LCRA’s site, so many people must be trying. Indeed, there is widespread flooding in the Hill Country and especially along the Highland Lakes, according to the daily, with more rain to come. Austin spared, so far.

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Posted in Sailing, Weather/Climate

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More rain

Posted on June 21, 2007 | Comments Off on More rain

May set records for wet. Looks like June will set a few records of its own. More from LCRA’s Bob Rose:

"Scattered showers and thunderstorms can be expected each day through the weekend, with the possibility for some locally heavy rain. With the ground wet from previous rains, flash flooding will be a possibility. Everyone should keep up with the latest weather developments."

I can see my trip on Monday to Yacht Harbor Marina for a rerigging of the sloop could turn out to be an adventure. 

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Flood gates to open

Posted on June 18, 2007 | Comments Off on Flood gates to open

The rains ended yesterday, but the runoff is still flowing and Lake Travis is now at 682.14, about a foot higher than it was Friday. So LCRA is making plans:

"At 4 p.m. today, LCRA plans to fully open one floodgate at Buchanan Dam and to increase releases from Mansfield Dam from about 5,000 cfs with two hydro units to about 7,500 cfs with three hydro units. Inks Lake will rise to about two feet above its spillway. Tomorrow morning at about 8 a.m., LCRA plans to open one floodgate at Mansfield Dam for a total release of about 12,000 to 13,000 cfs."

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Posted in Sailing, Texana, Weather/Climate

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Travis still rising

Posted on June 17, 2007 | Comments Off on Travis still rising

LCRA says the weekend’s rain is expected to end tonight, but Lake Travis is still taking in runoff from storms in the watershed, including one area that got almost six inches overnight, and the lake is expected to be about 683 feet above mean sea level by next weekend. That would be about 18 inches above where it is now, which might put the rest of the parking lot at Anderson Mill marina underwater. With the sloop’s rerigging scheduled for Monday, the 25th, I’ll have to hope the water isn’t full of debris and boating banned by then. It should take me about thirty minutes to motor to Yacht Harbor Marina for the work, unless there’s logs and other big stuff to dodge.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Sailing, Texana, Weather/Climate

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Lakes filling

Posted on June 16, 2007 | Comments Off on Lakes filling

LCRA site shows Lake Travis has risen about 12 inches since last night’s rain, as flow rates rise in the Llano and Pedernales rivers. Indeed:

"Inflows from overnight rains are slowly filling the Highland Lakes. Flood operations are not anticipated at this time. However the chances of flood operations this weekend have become more likely as the lakes fill."

They’ll start later this afternoon with hydrogeneration at Mansfield Dam, and likely stick with that if the predicted more rain in the watershed doesn’t start driving the level up too fast. Opening flood gates always seems to be the last resort, given it’s a reservoir, and opening too many can flood people living along Lake Austin farther downstream. Those folks are sure to be watching LCRA’s balancing act.

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Posted in Sailing, Texana, Weather/Climate

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Wet weekend

Posted on June 15, 2007 | Comments Off on Wet weekend

The sunken car in Tulsa might not look so strange around here by Monday. The weather service is calling for likely rain, possibly heavy, tonight, Saturday and Sunday. Looks like our wet spring isn’t over yet. We have had some big floods in June. Are we about to repeat? Just spotty green amoebas on the radar so far. Can’t last. They’ve been wrong before, but not this wrong. Bob Rose has more.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Weather/Climate

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Lake on the rise

Posted on May 28, 2007 | 4 comments

The rancho and most of the area has been spared any severe flooding so far, but Lake Travis is rising like a rocket. According to the LCRA: the Llano River is running more than 12,000 cubic feet per second, when a few hundred is normal. The Llano flows into the upper lakes whose dams pass their excess downstream to Travis. Meanwhile the Pedernales, which flows directly into Travis, is running more than 6,000 cubic feet per second, when a few hundred is normal. Meanwhile, Lake Travis is at 681.22 feet above mean sea level, which is full–for the first time since April, 2005.

The parking lot at Anderson Mill marina was mostly underwater Sunday morning. The lake was more than 12 inches lower at that point. The extra foot could have drowned the rest of the lot. The river authority is keenly aware of all this and may have to open another gate or two on the dam to slow the rise. They don’t like to squander the water, and so have been releasing only enough to generate electricity. But opening more may be necessary to prevent flooding on the lake. Which, in turn, might mean dock and other shoreline damage to folks who live downstream on Lake Austin. A complicated juggling act.

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