LCRA has closed the last of the floodgates along the Highland Lakes that were opened in response to flooding from Tropical Depression Hermine.

Heavy rains of up to 12 inches fell overnight Tuesday in the Lake Austin watershed. At the height of the downpour, five floodgates were opened on Tom Miller Dam, moving water from Lake Austin downstream to Lady Bird Lake.

About midday Wednesday, LCRA opened one gate at Wirtz Dam, moving water from Lake LBJ to Lake Marble Falls, and one and a half gates at Starcke Dam, moving water from Lake Marble Falls to Lake Travis. Those gates were closed several hours later. Any additional inflows are expected to be passed on through hydroelectric generation.

LCRA employees at Tom Miller Dam work to free boats washed down Lake Austin by the deluge from Tropical Storm Hermine.

Lake Travis is expected to continue rising over the next few days as water passed through lakes LBJ and Marble Falls flow into it. Lake Buchanan is expected to gain small amounts of additional water over the next few days.

The Pedernales River at Johnson City is above flood stage, but is falling. Cypress Creek, a tributary to the Pedernales River below Johnson City, peaked earlier today at about 37,000 cubic feet per second and is now falling.

Releases from Lake Austin and inflows downstream of Austin caused the Colorado River to exceed flood stage at Austin early Wednesday. According to National Weather Service River Forecast Center predictions, the river is expected to exceed flood stage at Bastrop, Smithville and La Grange Thursday and Friday. The river is expected to rise above bank-full stage but remain below flood stage at Columbus, Wharton and Bay City through Sunday and Monday. Click here for the latest forecasts.

LCRA continues to closely monitor the results from this storm. LCRA urges residents to monitor NOAA All Hazard radio broadcasts and local news media to stay aware of conditions affecting their local areas.

Swift water continues to flow in area creeks and low water crossings. People should use extreme caution when venturing out Wednesday. Turn Around Don’t Drown.

LCRA maintains an extensive array of web-based tools to keep track of rainfall, river flow and lake levels in and near the lower Colorado River basin.

For information on current lake levels at dams and floodgate operations (if any), go to: http://floodstatus.lcra.org and http://www.lcra.org/water/conditions/river_report.html. 

For information on lake levels over the last 7 days and forecasts, go to: http://floodstatus.lcra.org/#llevels. 

For real-time data from dozens of hydromet gauges through the lower Colorado River basin, go to http://hydromet.lcra.org. From this site, you will be able to check rainfall totals, streamflows and lake and river level information from key points on LCRA’s network of more than 200 gauges throughout Central and South Texas. For a tutorial about how to use the hydromet webpage, go to http://hydromet.lcra.org/HydrometDemo/HydrometDemo.htm

For information on how LCRA’s system of dams works, go to: http://www.lcra.org/water/system.html.

For key elevations for Lake Travis during floods, go to: http://www.lcra.org/water/flood/laketravisreleases.html.

For LCRA’s weather summary, go to http://www.lcra.org/water/weather.html.