LOCAL

Lake LBJ, Inks Lake to be lowered in January to help with 2018 flood recovery

Kelsey Bradshaw
kbradshaw@statesman.com
Water from Lake LBJ comes up to a house in Sunrise Beach Village on Oct. 16, 2018. [JAY JANNER/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]

Water levels at Lake LBJ and Inks Lake will be lowered at the start of next year to help property owners continue to recover from the October 2018 flooding, the Lower Colorado River Authority said Tuesday.

The lowering of the lakes will give residents in Burnet and Llano counties a chance to make repairs on docks, retaining walls and other structures, the LCRA said. Residents will also be able to remove debris.

Lake LBJ will be lowered 4 feet and Inks Lake will be lowered 8 feet starting Jan. 2, 2020, LCRA officials said. The lakes will stay lowered until Feb. 28, 2020.

Lake LBJ will be lowered 1 foot a day for four days before it reaches 4 feet on Jan. 5. Lake LBJ usually operates between 824.4 to 825 feet above mean sea level, the LCRA said.

Inks Lake will be lowered 1 foot a day for eight days until reaching 8 feet on Jan. 9, the LCRA said. Inks Lake typically operates between 886.9 to 887.7 feet above mean sea level.

The LCRA said lowering the lakes during colder months can also help curb the growth of nuisance aquatic vegetation.

READ MORE: Drought, floods made 2018 a wild year in weather for Texas

Heavy rainfall in October 2018 caused flooding along the Colorado River and triggered a boil water notice in Austin because treatment plants there were not able to filter water fast enough.

Lake LBJ was lowered once this year, officials said. Inks Lake was last lowered in 2018.

“LCRA normally doesn’t lower the same lake two years in a row, but we are making an exception after hearing from local officials and residents about needed repairs and maintenance resulting from the historic flooding last year,” said John Hofmann, LCRA executive vice president of water.

Lowering water levels at the lakes was requested by the Burnet County Commissioner’s Court in August, the LCRA said.

The refill for both lakes will start on Feb. 24 and is expected to be finished by Feb. 28.

People will be able to do dock repairs without a permit, but they will have to follow the LCRA’s standards.

All maintenance, dredging, debris removal and repair work on retaining walls must be registered with the LCRA. Registration forms are available at lcra.org/lakelowerings. You can also call LCRA Water Quality Protection at 512-578-2324.

You can visit the LCRA Western Maintenance Facility in Marble Falls at 2643 Wirtz Dam Road. The facility is open from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.