Lower Colorado River Authority

Special to The Highlander

Special to The Highlander

The Lower Colorado River Authority announced several significant actions to further enhance public safety on Lake LBJ following the historic flooding of last October, according to a press release Feb. 14 from the entity.

Lake LBJ and Lake Marble Falls are currently drawn down to allow property owners an opportunity to clean up debris and repair docks and other property damaged during the flooding.

The refill of Lake LBJ is scheduled to begin on Sunday, Feb. 24 and conclude by the end of the day on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The refill of Lake Marble Falls is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 18 and conclude by the end of the day on Thursday, March 21.

Following the refill of the lake, LCRA crews will:

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Marble Falls Economic Development Board members approved a contractor to demolish two Backbone Creek-side homes and ultimately transfer the cleared property to the city of Marble Falls for park space, officials said.
The municipal park space plans are pending approval by the Marble Falls City Council.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

A representative from the Lower Colorado River Authority unveiled Feb. 5 how the entity responded to the October flood event and addressed criticism about river management as Lake Marble Falls and LBJ residents continue to recover from the devastation.

Special to The Highlander

In consultation with the Llano and Burnet county judges, the mayors of Horseshoe Bay, Marble Falls and other incorporated towns on lakes LBJ and Marble Falls, the Lower Colorado River Authority announced Feb. 7 an amended schedule for the current drawdown of Lake LBJ, a Lower Colorado River Authority press release stated.

The refill of Lake LBJ now is scheduled to begin Feb. 24. The refill of Lake Marble Falls continues to be scheduled to begin March 18.

“The revised schedule for refilling Lake LBJ will allow our communities and businesses to restore operations, which will better serve our citizens and visitors to our communities,” Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham said in the LCRA press release. Communities on Lake LBJ include Kingsland, Granite Shoals, Highland Haven, Horseshoe Bay and Sunrise Beach.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Requests from local city leaders, citing continued flood-damage repair, prompted the Lower Colorado River Authority to extend a drawdown of Lakes Marble Falls and LBJ for three more weeks, officials said.

The initial eight-week drawdown will go through March 18 with both waterways expected to be back to normal operating range by March 22.

Starting Dec. 30, crews began lowering Lake Marble Falls to reach its 7-ft. level today and Lake LBJ to about 4 ft.

“We jointly reached the conclusion that the drawdown should be extended three weeks to allow property owners more time to complete repairs and cleanup,” Marble Falls Mayor John Packer said in an LCRA statement.
Horseshoe Bay Mayor Steve Jordan added: “The close working relationship we have with LCRA allowed us to be a participant in reaching the decision to continue the lake drawdown period.”

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

From initial door-to-door response for evacuations to post-flood cleanup provisions for residents, the Town Hall meeting Jan. 29 crafted an assessment of how the community handled the response and recovery process of the October flood event.

Known as an “after-action review,” city officials devised the Town Hall held at the Marble Falls Public Safety Facility (police station and municipal court building) to gather input from citizens to determine what worked well and what could be improved in the aftermath of the flood.

On Oct. 16, flood water from storms in the Junction area produced runoff into the Llano River which eventually slammed into the Highland Lakes which caused temporary evacuations, submerged lakeside homes, deposited debris and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

From staff reports

Debris and unsafe conditions prompted the Lower Colorado River Authority today to extend the closure of Lake LBJ and Lake Marble Falls for week to 10 days following an assessement of post-flood waterway conditions.

Lake Marble Falls will remain closed until at least Monday, Nov. 12, and Lake LBJ will remain closed until at least Friday, Nov. 16, an LCRA press release stated.

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

Burnet County Commissioners voted unanimously Monday, Nov. 5, during a special called meeting to accept a $100,000 contribution from the Lower Colorado River Authority to help defray flood debris cleanup costs of public waterways.

Special to The Highlander

The Lower Colorado River Authority announced Monday, Nov. 5, it will lower lakes LBJ and Marble Falls for about eight weeks in early 2019 to assist lakeside property owners recovering from recent historic flooding along the Colorado and Llano rivers.