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LCRA water release idea irks leaders
October 22, 2012, 9:00 pm by James Walker
The recommendation by the staff of the Lower Colorado River Authority last week to the authority’s board members that an Emergency Drought Order in effect most of this year not be extended or renewed has upset Highland Lakes officials.
Failure to extend or renew the drought order could lead to draining the Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis reservoirs to supply water to downstream rice farmers, further damage local businesses and deplete community water supplies, Highland Lakes stakeholders and officials said.
LCRA staff members, who made the recommendation to board members Oct. 17, acknowledged that lifting the drought order has a 25 percent chance of causing a drought worse than the state’s drought of record and could allow the lakes to be drained below 400,000 acre feet.
Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis currently have a combined storage of 882,000 acre feet, which is only about 44 percent of capacity.
"Think about your lake dropping its volume in half,” Central Texas Water Coalition President Jo Karr Tedder wrote on the organization’s website after learning of the board’s recommendation.
The issue is expected to be on the agenda for a vote at LCRA’s Nov. 15 board meeting in Fredericksburg.
Tedder urged residents to contact friends, organizations and elected officials to register their opposition to the LCRA staff’s recommendation.For more on this story see Tuesday's Highlander
Reader Comments
This is Absolute Insanity!!! Everyone who cares about their future water, property values and the total economic devastation of our communities need to show up November 15th and bring everyone they know with them!
October 23, 2012, 4:33pm by Donna Garrison
Now is not the time to be waisting water on weed control for rice farming. Our lakes have never been this low this long. As the owner of two lake related businesses it's killing my livelihood. Not to mention endangering the water supply for a million and a half central Texans.
October 24, 2012, 8:45am by James Peterson
maybe its time for "WE THE PEOPLE" to beat our plows and pruning hooks back into swords.
and take back what is ours. FREEDOM. Federal,state and local commies think we should answer to them, NO THEY ANSWER TO US. they tax us to death for water front prop. then take our water away. We need a great leader who can pull us together, lets go to war
October 26, 2012, 12:49pm by connie myers
this is the most absurd recommendation the LCRA could make. Lake Buchanan has established a new record low depth, and has not risen substantially in 3 years. to allow further draining of the lakes will only worsen the communities and the businesses that occupy the Highland Lakes. Stop the lunacy!
October 25, 2012, 10:06am by Tim Sulecki
Where is the logic in this proposal?? And what happens when there is no more water to give to the rice farmers??? will the LCRA go broke?? This has economic and environmental disaster written all over it
October 25, 2012, 10:40am by robert gartman
Why does LCRA think they have so much control over draining Lake Buchanan dry?
It's apparent it is all about profit.
Legistative need to step in and stop this from happening.
November 05, 2012, 8:25am by Jenny
220 South Main St., Burnet, TX 78611 - Phone: (512)756-6136