Waters rush through Starke Dam
LEW COHN/MANAGING EDITOR
Water rushing through just one of the 10 floodgates on Max Starke Dam below Lake Marble Falls, conjure the images that must have been commonplace over limestone cascades below the US 281 bridge before the lake was impounded.
Starcke Dam, owned by Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), creates Lake Marble Falls and water can pass through one or more of its 10 floodgates to maintain a relatively constant level.
Starcke Dam has the distinction of being the smallest in the Highland Lakes chain and the last one completed. The lake and dam were constructed from 1949 to 1951 for hydroelectricity. Originally named Marble Falls, the dam was renamed in 1962 for Max Starcke, LCRA's second general manager (1940-1955).
LCRA has replaced the dam's 50-year-old "bear trap" floodgates with hydraulic gates. The LCRA coordinates with upriver dams when upstream counties receive heavy rainfall.
