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It's rained 9 inches in Kyle, TX so far

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Where does that drain?

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None of the highland lakes unfortunately. I don't think it feeds any reservoir that isn't already full.

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It's rained 9 inches in Kyle, TX so far

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Where does that drain?

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This is too far east to get the Highland lakes. The rain would need to be north and west of where the heaviest is falling.

Thanks.

yeah, most of this rain will not end up in the Highland Lakes. But they will get some, and the levels will come up a little. In reality, the Highland Lakes are in pretty good shape. They are not full per se, but Lake Travis is at historical normal levels for October, and buchanan is only about 3 1/2 feet below historical normal levels

No way to know for sure, but I think with the El Nino event starting to take effect, Highland Lakes will have all the water they need by late spring

I realize that rains like this are great for filling lakes due to all of the runoff, but it would be nice to spread the rain out a bit. We had almost a foot of rain last weekend and have had another 3" today. My garage is flooded.

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I realize that rains like this are great for filling lakes due to all of the runoff, but it would be nice to spread the rain out a bit. We had almost a foot of rain last weekend and have had another 3" today. My garage is flooded.

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Man that sucks

I have a feeling we are all gonna have to brace for a wet winter

I think the Plum Creek watershed is between Kyle and Buda. The Plum pours into the San Marcos just South of Luling.

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I realize that rains like this are great for filling lakes due to all of the runoff, but it would be nice to spread the rain out a bit. We had almost a foot of rain last weekend and have had another 3" today. My garage is flooded.

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Man that sucks

I have a feeling we are all gonna have to brace for a wet winter

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The flooding garage isn't a huge deal. It does no damage to anything, anything that could be damaged by water is above the level that the water can reach. Additional water accumulations flow around the house.

My house is on a highest hill in McLennan County, however, it is below street level and my driveway turns into Lake EMY with any decent rain. I swear that I can hear klaxons and someone shouting "DIVE! DIVE! DIVE!!!" as I turn into my driveways on days when we've had rains like this.

I was down by Nolan Creek about 4 pm yesterday, water up almost to the concrete parking blocks. Channel 10 weather guy Brady and crew were out there broadcasting. The bridge flood stage marker showed 12 feet.

This morning it showed 10. There were some large logs on the pavement, and debris well up into some parking lots. Good thing I saw, a lady feeding the ducks out of water.

My 101# Boxer Rufus wanted duck breakfast.

Here we go

Most of it is forecast north of us, but plenty in the Colorado and Brazos Basins

Think Buchanan might hit normal level for the first time in what, 6-8 years?

Buchanan is above normal

And rising

I always use this thread to go back to the first two links you posted Pablo. Travis is above full pool level now and with another 4 feet or so Buchanan will too. It's a beatiful sight.

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I always use this thread to go back to the first two links you posted Pablo. Travis is above full pool level now and with another 4 feet or so Buchanan will too. It's a beatiful sight.

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Yep. Should be in good shape for awhile.. although Buchanan is below pool level, it's well above historical normal levels

Pretty hard to believe it was 30+ feet low a year ago

I admit I was wrong about Lake Travis, LCRA released water at Mansfield Dam for the first time since 2007

And they recently released water from Lake Buchanan as well

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And they recently released water from Lake Buchanan as well

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I noticed that. 4 feet in that lake is a lot of water to forfeit and just let it flow to the gulf. I'll check but i guess full in buchanan means full, i.e. no extra flood storage ( i think that's right)

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And they recently released water from Lake Buchanan as well

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I noticed that. 4 feet in that lake is a lot of water to forfeit and just let it flow to the gulf. I'll check but i guess full in buchanan means full, i.e. no extra flood storage ( i think that's right)

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Well, the lake is about 5 feet above normal, and just a couple of feet below full. They don't want it to get too high, because then if there's a flood on the Colorado, you will have big problems.

And I think you're right -- at buchanan, full actually means full... conservation pool level is pretty close to the top of the dam, I think

I think it illustrates that a normal (over time) amount of rain is a far greater factor than water use. However, water use being something we can control inasmuch as limiting waste should be something everyone took away from the last few years. It'll happen again.

Have heard that evaporation accounts for as much of a loss as water usage.

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Have heard that evaporation accounts for as much of a loss as water usage.

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Would not surprise me during the hot months

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I think it illustrates that a normal (over time) amount of rain is a far greater factor than water use. However, water use being something we can control inasmuch as limiting waste should be something everyone took away from the last few years. It'll happen again.

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True.

Saw where some places in California added a substantial amount of water after five or so years of very serious drought. Although it's been quite awhile when I lived there, water was conserved then as well.

I looked at waterdatafortexas.org earlier ,...Buchanan 99.3% full, Travis 100%, 3.89 above conservation pool.

What a difference a year makes, huh?

I just saw a photo on facebook showing a parking lot under water near Lake Belton.

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What a difference a year makes, huh?

I just saw a photo on facebook showing a parking lot under water near Lake Belton.

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Actually,.the parking lots were under water a year ago as well.... a few.months after lake belton was at a record low

Lake Belton is at 607.5 as I type this

Almost 14 feet above normal

And it's rising fast

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What a difference a year makes, huh?

I just saw a photo on facebook showing a parking lot under water near Lake Belton.

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Actually,.the parking lots were under water a year ago as well.... a few.months after lake belton was at a record low

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This. That's temple lake park if I had to guess. I believe all boat ramps are closed right now. Happened last year too

Belton is now just shy of 20' high, and still rising fast. Another 17' to hit the spillway.

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Belton is now just shy of 20' high, and still rising fast. Another 17' to hit the spillway.

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Yeah, I drove over the dam yesterday and that water is just a few feet below the spillway bank

It will start to go down, though... water was coming in but they weren't letting any out due to the flooding downstream... as of yesterday, they had started letting water out again, and we are expecting drier weather

http://www.statesman.com/news/weather/lake-travis-near-693-feet-trigger-for-ban-on-recre/nrbKg/

all Highland Lakes are closed to boats

Anyone have pictures from the 1991 floods?

Lived in south Austin at that time. Had friends below the Mansfield Dam. Getting home from their jobs, parked car, took a jon boat to the house.

I was at LT in '97, it got to 688 in June. The Captain's Den, AKA the old Carlos & Charlies was under water. That's when they built the floating Carlos & Charlies ( closed due to drought ).

After Tropical Storm Allison dumped on Houston in 2001 LCRA re-evaluated what the worst case flood event would be as it was deemed plausible for such a storm to park itself over the highland lakes watershed.

I think they calculated something like a 25-foot height pouring over the spillway. That would be incredible!

I might have posed a question about this scenario earlier in this thread but won't go back and look.

If it looks as if our wet weather is done for a while, and we're still releasing excess water, why not retain a couple or three feet over 681 as we head into the summer months?

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After Tropical Storm Allison dumped on Houston in 2001 LCRA re-evaluated what the worst case flood event would be as it was deemed plausible for such a storm to park itself over the highland lakes watershed.

I think they calculated something like a 25-foot height pouring over the spillway. That would be incredible!

I might have posed a question about this scenario earlier in this thread but won't go back and look.

If it looks as if our wet weather is done for a while, and we're still releasing excess water, why not retain a couple or three feet over 681 as we head into the summer months?

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Don't know why they don't retain a little extra, given there is plenty of water for farmers downstream

I guess maybe because there is still water coming in and they don't want it to rise?

Don't know the answer

I recognize that to make that decision would involve statistical analysis above my capability. I do think it should be something LCRA should consider though. With more people using water from the lakes and the possibility of greater extremes perhaps the chiseled in stone lake operational procedures need to be modified?

Consider the martini glass change in volume per foot. When the lake levels were in the lower half of the 600's people were watching every foot. One foot up in the 680 elevation might be worth 2 or 3 down in the 620's.

I will say this has been a fun thread. I have loved reading everybody's posts and watching the progression of the central Texas reservoirs over the last year

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I recognize that to make that decision would involve statistical analysis above my capability. I do think it should be something LCRA should consider though. With more people using water from the lakes and the possibility of greater extremes perhaps the chiseled in stone lake operational procedures need to be modified?

Consider the martini glass change in volume per foot. When the lake levels were in the lower half of the 600's people were watching every foot. One foot up in the 680 elevation might be worth 2 or 3 down in the 620's.

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And yes, martini glass is an excellent analogy