LCRA opening floodgate at Tom Miller, Buchanan dams

Posted: Thu, 21 Apr 2016 08:59 PM - 38,012 Readers

In this 2012 file photo, Dan Yates, supervisor of the LCRA River Operations Center, peers out over Tom Miller Dam looking east (Photo by Ralph Barrera/American-Statesman)

Update 3 p.m.: The Lower Colorado River Authority just announced it will also be starting floodgate operations at Buchanan Dam, the major reservoir upstream of Lake Travis.

Earlier: The Lower Colorado River Authority has announced it will open floodgates at Tom Miller Dam around 3 p.m. to allow additional water through.

Tom Miller Dam separates Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake. The LCRA is planning to partially open one of the nine floodgates, spokeswoman Clara Tuma said. The purpose ultimately is to drain a little bit of water from Lake Travis down through Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake.

Lake Travis, which is upriver, now stands at 103 percent full.

The Colorado River was running high downstream of Austin earlier this week, but National Weather Service forecasts show the river well below flood levels and call for the river levels to continue falling in the coming days.

* Story Contributed by: Marty Toohey

[edit]

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