At the request of the Buchanan/Inks Regional Council, LCRA plans to lower Inks Lake in early January by eight feet for about six weeks. The drawdown will allow lakeside residents to do repair and maintenance work to shoreline structures such as retaining walls. This early notice is intended to give property owners time to line up work crews or contractors to do repair work.
Tentative plans call for LCRA to begin lowering Inks Lake on Jan. 3 and refill it beginning Feb. 10. The drawdown will take about four days. Refilling also will take about four days. LCRA expects Inks Lake to be back at its usual operating level by about Feb. 13.
Lakewide permits, which cover dredging and structural repair and maintenance work along the shoreline, will be available to property owners by Dec. 1.
Maintenance work covered by the lakewide permit includes dredging up to 2,000 cubic yards of material from below the 888.22 feet above mean sea level contour of Inks Lake; repairing existing structures such as retaining walls, boat slips and boat launches; and cleaning up debris. All debris must be relocated to an area above the 888.22 feet contour for disposal. State regulations do not allow the burning of material in the lakebed.
New shoreline construction is not allowed under the lakewide permit. All projects not covered by the lakewide permit will fall under LCRA’s Dredge and Fill Standards. Property owners can call LCRA at 1-800-776-5272, ext. 3597, with questions about the Dredge and Fill Standards.
LCRA staff cautions that the drawdown schedule could change or be canceled if weather or power emergencies require LCRA to release water from Buchanan Dam upstream. In those cases, there may be little or no advance warning and workers should not leave equipment in the lake bed overnight.
Water released from Inks Lake for the drawdown will be captured in Lake Travis. It will take about 5,000 acre-feet of water from Lake Buchanan to refill Ink lakes after the drawdown. At the current level of Lake Buchanan, the release of 5,000 acre-feet will result in less than a half foot reduction in Lake Buchanan’s water level, if no inflows occur. LCRA may be able to credit water released from Lake Buchanan toward next year’s required downstream releases.
The LCRA Buchanan/Inks Regional Council, which requested the lowering, is a group of volunteers appointed by LCRA to assist in identifying and addressing issues affecting the region. The members represent landowners, businesses, lakeside and other regional interests.
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Source: lcra, November 3, 2010;