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LCRA recommends staying off the lakes at night for now
AUSTIN – Though recent flood operations at dams along the Highland Lakes have concluded, bacteria and debris from recent flooding are still present in the lakes and continue to pose potential risks for lake visitors.
The Lower Colorado River Authority on Thursday advised visitors to use extra caution on the lakes and avoid being on the lakes at night until at least late next week to give flood debris more time to settle out. In addition, some residential docks on Lake Travis remain farther from shore than usual and may not have lights.
“We’ve had a tremendous amount of water pass through the Highland Lakes since July 4,” said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of Water. “Conditions are improving daily, but we are still seeing flood debris in some areas. We expect bacteria levels elevated by the flood to start returning to more normal levels late next week.”
Over the last two weeks, LCRA had flood operations underway at five of the six dams along the Highland Lakes – Buchanan, Inks, Wirtz, Starcke and Tom Miller – to move floodwaters downstream. LCRA concluded the flood operations Wednesday afternoon. LCRA moved floodwaters from the upper lakes downstream into Lake Travis, the only one of the Highland Lakes with room to store floodwaters.
“I know people want to get back on the lakes and enjoy the sunny weather we’re seeing now,” Hofmann said. “It’s safer now that flood operations have ended, but you still need to be extremely careful on the lakes. Keep your guard up, watch out for debris and be aware that Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis are significantly deeper than they were two weeks ago.”
Water quality can vary from place to place in a lake, and there is always a chance of coming into contact with bacteria, especially in the weeks immediately after a flood event when bacteria levels typically are quite high. Swimmers should avoid smelly, cloudy or stagnant areas of the lakes.
For more water safety tips, visit www.lcra.org/ belakewise.
Since 7 a.m. Friday, July 4, Lake Buchanan has risen more than 17 feet, and Lake Travis has risen more than 36 feet. Combined storage of the two lakes, the two water supply reservoirs in the Highland Lakes, has risen from 51% to more than 93% of capacity.
