Streamflow Conditions above the Highland Lakes

In the Texas Hill Country, flow in the major streams such as the upper Colorado River and the Llano River are flowing low and steady.  The Colorado River near San Saba is flowing at 190 cubic feet per second (cfs), and the Llano River at Llano is flowing at 140 cfs.  Sandy Creek near Kingsland is flowing at 5 cfs and the Pedernales River at Johnson City is flowing at 30 cfs.

Lake Conditions

As of 7:35 this morning, the level of Lake Buchanan is at 990.00 ft msl which is about 22.0 feet below its historic February average of 1,011.97 ft msl. Lake Travis is at 626.95 ft msl which is about 43.7 feet below its historic February average of 670.64 ft msl. The total combined storage in the Highland Lakes two water storage reservoirs, Buchanan and Travis, is at 763,000 acre-feet, or 38 percent of capacity.

To see graphs of historical lake and storage levels go to: http://www.lcra.org/portal/page/portal/library/media/public/docs/water/drought/Historical_Lake_levels.pdf.

Lake levels reported by LCRA are not referenced to the NAVD 88 datum, and should not be used to determine first floor elevation of buildings for compliance with floodplain regulations.  Surveyors should refer to: http://harn.lcra.org/website/harn/ for information about LCRA GPS control marks and benchmarks.

The surface water temperature of Lake Travis as measured near Mansfield Dam is 60 degrees.

Dam Operations

Short releases will continue to be made periodically from Buchanan Dam to in order to supply a share of the water taken from the Highland Lakes system.  Releases from Inks, Wirtz, and Starcke dams may be made today as needed to maintain lake levels and supply water to users located along the Highland Lakes.  Releases from Mansfield Dam will be made today to maintain the level of Lake Austin and supply water to municipal users on Lake Austin (City of Austin and others).  Releases from Lake Austin today will be made to supply water for downstream municipal users, industrial users, and for environmental (instream flow) requirements along the Colorado River below Lake Austin.  Releases from Lady Bird Lake through Longhorn Dam are controlled by Austin Energy, the electric utility for the City of Austin.

Unscheduled releases could occur at any of the Highland Lakes dams without notice to maintain lake levels, pass flood flows, meet sudden demands for hydroelectric power, or for testing and maintenance of equipment.  The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) may call upon LCRA for hydroelectric generation at anytime without notice.  Lakeside residents and lake users immediately downstream of the dams should take necessary precautions against possible high flows and higher lake levels.

Streamflow Conditions Below the Highland Lakes

This morning, the Colorado River at Bastrop is flowing at 495 cfs, and the Colorado River at Columbus is flowing at 765 cfs.  Further downstream, the Colorado River at Wharton is flowing at 1,400 cfs and the Colorado River at Bay City is flowing at 2,200 cfs.

To see real-time hydrologic data, please go to: http://hydromet.lcra.org/.

Colorado River Instream Flow Needs for 2012

As of January 1, 2012 the combined storage of lakes Buchanan and Travis was below 1.1 million acre-feet as defined in the Water Management Plan and therefore environmental instream flow criteria and Bay and Estuary needs are now subject to the "critical" requirements.

Critical Instream Flow Requirements:  The minimum instream flow requirement to meet critical needs is to maintain at least 46 cfs at the Austin river gauge at all times, and to maintain a mean daily flow of 120 cfs from Bastrop to Eagle Lake.

Critical Bay and Estuary Requirements:  The minimum freshwater inflow to Matagorda Bay to meet critical needs is 14,260 acre-feet each month.

At times the lower river and Matagorda Bay may receive more water than required by the Water Management Plan because water is being delivered to downstream users or due to downstream storms and inflows.

Weather Outlook

For the 5-day Central Texas forecast as well as detailed weather reports and video blogs from LCRA Meteorologist Bob Rose, see: http://www.lcra.org/water/conditions/weather/index.html.

For up to date weather forecasts (including a 7-day forecast) for your area go to: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx/ and enter your Zip Code in the Local Forecast bar located in the upper left hand corner.

Recreation Links:

For information on water quality, see: http://www.lcra.org/water/quality/index.html.

For information on water safety, see: http://www.lcra.org/water/safety/index.html.

For information on boat ramp availability on the Highland Lakes, see: http://www.lcra.org/parks/boat_ramp_info.html.

For weekly fishing reports for the Texas Hill Country, see: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/fishreport.phtml.