Stormwater prompts floodgate operations

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  Just Passing Thru On Wednesday, from three to five gates were open at Max Starcke Dam at different times to pass through stormwater runoff flowing from the Llano River. Contributed/ James Oakley

  Just Passing Thru On Wednesday, from three to five gates were open at Max Starcke Dam at different times to pass through stormwater runoff flowing from the Llano River. Contributed/ James Oakley
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  Contributed/ Steve Zbranek LCRA opened Wirtz Dam floodgates (left) on Lake LBJ after floodwaters made their way through Town Lake in the city of Llano (below).

  Contributed/ Steve Zbranek LCRA opened Wirtz Dam floodgates (left) on Lake LBJ after floodwaters made their way through Town Lake in the city of Llano (below).
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  Stormwater from the Llano River in Kingsland prompted public safety officials to close Slab Road (FM 3404) due to flooding. Barbara/Rosenberger/The Highlander

  Stormwater from the Llano River in Kingsland prompted public safety officials to close Slab Road (FM 3404) due to flooding. Barbara/Rosenberger/The Highlander
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  Contributed/Nina Willis Sanchez

  Contributed/Nina Willis Sanchez

Area residents braced for flooding impact this week as stormwaters made their way through the Llano River, prompting the Lower Colorado River Authority to open floodgates.

“The storm runoff that reached the Highland Lakes this week originated from heavy rains over the western portion of the Llano River watershed,” said LCRA spokeswoman Clara Tuma. “This was a classic Hill Country flood event in which an area received significant rainfall in a fairly short amount of time.

“This region is known as Flash Flood Alley and has one of the greatest risks for flash flooding in the United States because of its steep terrain, shallow soil and unusually high rainfall rates.”

Runoff flowed through the Llano River into Lake LBJ. LCRA then moved the runoff downstream through floodgates and hydroelectric generation into Lake Travis.

By Tuesday evening, Llano area residents noticed the Llano River starting to swell.

Llano resident Reed Norman remarked at 5:50 p.m, “The Llano Rives is on the rise.” At that time residents began to notice water over the spillway on Town Lake in Llano increasing in velocity and size. The stormwater continued to make its way through the Llano River towards Kingsland, dumping into Lake LBJ.

By Wednesday morning, crews opened gates at Wirtz Dam on Lake LBJ and Max Starcke Dam which creates Lake Marble Falls.

Tuma noted that the last time floodgates were opened at Wirtz and Starcke dams was October 2023.

Burnet County Judge James Oakley ventured down stream of Max Starcke Dam to capture images of the operations at Starcke on Wednesday morning.

“Three gates open on Max Starcke Dam this morning to pass all the abundant and blessed rains from the upper Llano River drainage basin,” he shared on social media.

No reports of issues by waterfront residents or those around rising creeks reported any issues.

"Kudos to LCRA on their floodwater management and the communications thereof,” Oakley continued.

Tuma explained that while “welcome,” the drought has yet to release its grip.

“We haven’t seen this much rain in the Lake Travis watershed in a while,” she said. “While this is not a drought breaker, it's definitely a welcome event.

“Not only have the recent rains helped raise levels in Lake Travis, they also have reduced the amount of watering needed for outdoor landscapes this week,” she added. “The rains also helped bring down our temperatures, which reduces the amount of water that will evaporate from the lakes during the cooler weather.”

Since that time, LCRA has opened a total of two floodgates at Wirtz Dam and five floodgates at Starcke Dam to move floodwaters downstream.

"The number of floodgates open at any one time fluctuated throughout the day," Tuma continued. All floodgates were closed by about 6 a.m. Thursday, July 26.

"LCRA generally manages the pass-through lakes (Inks Lake and lakes LBJ, Marble Falls and Austin) within a range of about a foot,” Tuma explained. “When inflows could cause a pass-through lake to rise, LCRA moves the runoff downstream through floodgate opera tions or hydroelectric generation.

“The water from this event is being moved into Lake Travis, one of two water supply reservoirs in the Highland Lakes. Lake Travis is the only one of the Highland Lakes able to store floodwaters."

Swiftwater Safety

Officials asked residents to pay heed to swift currents.

"Flows below open floodgates are higher and fast er than usual,” Tuma said. “In this instance, the runoff flowed from Lake LBJ into Lake Marble Falls, and from Lake Marble Falls into Lake Travis.”

“Anyone in the water should be aware of the high- er currents when floodgate operations or hydroelectric generation are underway," she added. "People should avoid being near the dams and take precautions to stay safe.”

Area residents can sign up for notifications through LCRA's free Flood Operations Notification Service (FONS) at www.lcra.org/FONS.

“We would encourage anyone who wants to know when flood operations begin at any of the dams," she said.

Hydro Power

"LCRA will continue moving inflows from the rain event downstream into Lake Travis through hydroelectric generation,” she added.

The entity provides “near real-time” information on flow conditions and lake levels on the River Operations Report online at hydromet.lcra.org/riverreport.

Find rain totals and streamflow information from with Hydromet, utilizing a network of more than 275 gauges, at hydromet.lcra.org.