The Lower Colorado River Authority opened two floodgates at Buchanan Dam Monday afternoon to release storm runoff as the Highland Lakes system manages flooding from July rains. (Photo: LCRA)
BURNET, Texas — The Lower Colorado River Authority opened four floodgates at Buchanan Dam Monday afternoon to release storm runoff as the Highland Lakes system manages flooding from July rains.
The floodgate operations at Buchanan Dam mark the first time since 2019 that the dam has required such releases, according to CBS Austin meteorologist Avery Tomasco.
Lake Buchanan reached 96% capacity Monday morning, sitting just 1.5 feet below the 1,020-foot elevation that triggers floodgate operations.
Storm runoff from the San Saba River and Colorado River mainstem has pushed water levels throughout the Highland Lakes chain, prompting LCRA to warn residents that downstream flows will be faster and water levels higher than usual.
One floodgate at Wirtz Dam, which creates Lake LBJ, and multiple floodgates at Starcke Dam, which creates Lake Marble Falls, remain open to release storm runoff. An additional floodgate will be opened at Wirtz Dam later Monday. The Llano River reached moderate flood stage Monday morning, adding to the water flowing into the system.
With Buchanan Dam's floodgates open, the releases will flow over the spillway at Inks Dam, which has no floodgates, then through the open floodgates at Wirtz and Starcke dams into Lake Travis.
As devastating as the flooding has been on so many lakes and creeks, at Lake Buchanan, this is exactly what residents have been praying for.
“It has not been this high, I would say, in 15 years. It has been a long time,” said Gwen Carpenter, owner of Willow Point Resort on Lake Buchanan.
To demonstrate the difference two weeks can make, Carpenter showed CBS Austin a photo of the lake before the Fourth of July weekend floods and another one she took on Monday.
“Two weeks ago, it was almost two football fields to get out to the water. We would golf cart people down with their coolers and things because it was a long way to go,” said Carpenter.
On Monday, guests at Willow Point only need to walk about 10 feet from their cabins to swim or go canoeing. Lake Buchanan is up at least 16 feet since July 3.
The ongoing drought has made this such a rare sight: a small crowd gathered at one of the few vantage points to watch as water spilled over the dam.
“It's the first time the lake has been up at this point and the first time the floodgates opened since 2019,” said Nick Zackoff with Lake Buchanan Conservation Corporation.
The drought dried up business at resorts and restaurants around Lake Buchanan. At the Willow Point Resort, cabin rentals were down 60%. On Monday, the phones are already ringing with reservation requests.
“If our business flourishes, then all the businesses on the lake do. The gas stations, the grocery stores, the hardware stores, all the businesses benefit when we bring tourists into the area,” said Carpenter.
As much as business owners and residents like seeing the lake full, it is hard to celebrate. Carpenter says she hates it that the same floods that finally filled Lake Buchanan are hurting so many others across Central Texas.
“We’ve been praying for the water, but it’s not that we wish harm for anyone else because of that,” said Carpenter.
Lake Travis, the only Highland Lake with significant flood storage capacity, currently sits at 76% full with ample room to handle the additional water. Even at 100% capacity, the lake has a massive flood pool that can nearly double its storage capacity.
LCRA advised residents to avoid the other Highland Lakes at night and use extra caution during the day due to flood debris and elevated bacteria levels from recent flooding.