The elevation of Lake Travis is at 686.2 feet above mean sea level (msl) and continues to fall slowly after cresting nearly 6 feet in its flood pool on Sunday.
Floodgate operations are not planned at Mansfield Dam, which creates Lake Travis — the only flood control reservoir on the Highland Lakes system.
Protecting downstream residents guides releases
LCRA's handling of the latest round of heavy rains and floods reflects the guidelines it must follow in maintaining flood releases from Lake Travis and Mansfield Dam.
LCRA is discharging floodwaters through releases from the hydroelectric power station at Mansfield Dam, a process that should return Travis to its full elevation of 681 feet msl by the Labor Day weekend if there are no additional rains. This may surprise some residents who live deep in the Lake Travis flood pool and who want LCRA to open floodgates at Mansfield, as it did during the last flood in late June.... See full story.
Expect higher-than-normal river flows downstream
LCRA forecasts that Colorado River streamflows downstream of Austin will continue at higher-than-normal levels until early September as Lake Travis is slowly lowered to at or below its flood pool. Additional rainfall in the Hill Country could extend that timetable.... See full story.
MORE: Situation Report has info on forecasts for lakes and river
