Possible flooding now.

Flood plain residents brace for lake level surge

While many area residents and lakeside businesses are rejoicing at Lake Travis’ return to full capacity, Lakeway resident Mike Albrecht and his companion Shirley Powers are gradually moving their belongings into storage, just in case the water creeps past their small retaining wall and up into their home.

“As the lake is coming up incrementally, we’re taking incremental steps to evacuate,” said Albrecht, whose home is less than 75 feet from the water’s edge. “We’re kind of at the mercy of Mother Nature and the (Lower Colorado River Authority).”

Of the dams controlled by the LCRA, Mansfield Dam is the only one built to temporarily hold floodwaters in order to protect the Austin area and further downstream.

On top of the lake’s full capacity of 681 feet, 33 feet of floodwater can be stored on top of that, for a total of 714 feet.

“There’s a history of incredible and very catastrophic flooding that’s occurred in the Colorado River basin,” said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of water. “We want to protect Austin and downstream and mitigate the effects of flooding … if you look at where we are right now, we’re a little bit into flood storage – barely over 681. We’re slowly but surely, through our normal releases, keeping that down to 681. But if we’re sitting at 681 and having a 20-inch rain event upstream in the Pedernales watershed … that’s a different scenario.”

Any number of factors might go into allowing the lake level to rise past 681 feet. The LCRA might also take advantage of Lake Travis’ flood reservoir capacity if it’s already flooded downstream, and officials feel that they can’t afford to exacerbate the problem with waters rushing down the Pedernales, Hofmann said. And residents at the water’s edge need to be cognizant of that fact, Hofmann said.

“That’s what that (extra capacity) is for,” Hofmann said.

Entire Story http://www.statesman.com/news/news/l...l-surge/nqw4F/