{"id":39888,"date":"2015-03-05T08:06:07","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T14:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=39888"},"modified":"2015-03-05T09:35:34","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T15:35:34","slug":"this-dam-holds-in-lady-bird-lake-so-when-will-it-get-essential-repairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2015\/03\/05\/this-dam-holds-in-lady-bird-lake-so-when-will-it-get-essential-repairs\/","title":{"rendered":"This Dam Holds in Lady Bird Lake, So When Will It Get ‘Essential’ Repairs?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Officials<\/a>

Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon<\/p>

Officials have long been aware of the need for repairs at Longhorn Dam.<\/p><\/div>\n

The poor condition of the dam that holds in the waters of Austin’s beloved Lady Bird Lake continues to vex city officials. \u00a0Emails obtained in a public information request\u00a0reveal challenges the city faced in performing maintenance on Longhorn Dam, which crosses the Colorado River beneath Pleasant Valley Road. Documents tell of water lost through the dam’s gates that could potentially stay in\u00a0upstream\u00a0reservoirs,\u00a0and show city departments struggling to assign responsibility for the structure and plan a long-term solution.<\/p>\n

Austin Energy, the city-owned electric utility, and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) have long known about the need for work on the dam. Austin Energy is the city department that operates the structure. The LCRA operates dams upstream from Austin and coordinates with Austin Energy when they release water downstream.<\/p>\n

The Dam<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Crews<\/a>

Photo Courtesy of Austin Energy.<\/p>

Crews work to dislodge a barge from Longhorn Dam in Lady Bird Lake on Halloween 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

There are nine gates on Longhorn Dam that can allow water to pass. One\u00a0of the seven “lift gates” that are manually opened and closed to control flooding has been broken for years<\/a>. \u00a0The difficulty of manually opening those gates during storms has been responsible for some flooding along the hike and bike trail and occasional drops in lake levels\u00a0according to city documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many challenges at the dam are baked into its history. Built in 1960 to create a reservoir for the Holly Power Plant, it was initially intended to help with electricity generation. That reservoir\u00a0is what is known today as Lady Bird Lake.\u00a0The power plant is gone, but the dam is relied on to maintain water levels in the lake. It also helps control water releases downstream, a function that’s become more important as the region remains in a years-long drought.<\/p>\n

Problems at the dam gained wider attention after the Halloween Flood in 2013.\u00a0 Operations during that storm, including an incident when a barge jammed into one of the gates, caused what one city staffer described as a near “catastrophe.” \u00a0At one point, Lady Bird Lake started to “empty out.”<\/a><\/p>\n

A Hot Potato\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the flood in 2013, city officials circulated a draft memo<\/a>\u00a0proposing that Austin Energy give up control of the structure. The electric utility has little reason to operate a dam without a power plant, and the prospect of repairs and upkeep were daunting. “Historically they have just been doing the bare minimum to keep it operational,” Austin Energy employee Kathleen\u00a0Garrett wrote in an email<\/a> several weeks before the October flood.<\/p>\n

\"Cheryle<\/a>

Mose Buchele<\/p>

Cheryle Mele is the COO of Austin Energy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Under the proposal, the City of Austin would take over responsibility for the structure. In exchange, Austin Energy would give valuable land around the old Holly Power Plant and at Justin Lane to the Austin Parks Department. The properties were valued at around $30 million in 2013.<\/p>\n

But taking control of the dam would be an expensive headache.\u00a0\u00a0An email from\u00a0Austin Energy’s Chief Operating Officer\u00a0Cheryl\u00a0Mele\u00a0to Assistant City Manager Robert Goode explained that<\/a> “the mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic systems need replacements within the next few years. One option is to replace most of the major control systems components including the flood gates. the other is to replace the gated dam altogether (\u2026)”<\/p>\n

The initial\u00a0engineering\u00a0and construction cost of fixing the gates was put at $10,600,000 with expenses raising as high at $20 Million. A full replacement with a different kind of structure was pegged at $16,500,000.<\/p>\n

By April 2014 the plan to trade\u00a0the dam\u00a0for\u00a0real estate appeared to be off the table.\u00a0Assistant City Manager Robert Goode ran through other options<\/a> with heads of Austin Water and Austin Energy.\u00a0\u00a0One was to have the electric utility fix the dam and then let the water utility take control.\u00a0\u00a0Another was to issue bonds so that the water utility could fix the dam and take it over.<\/p>\n

Losing Water In A Drought<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the City was deciding who might take control of the dam, the way the it releases water had caught the attention of the City of Austin Water Resource Planning Task Force, a\u00a0group convened by the city to plan for Austin’s future water needs.<\/p>\n

Austin’s Lady Bird Lake is\u00a0maintained\u00a0at a constant lake level. When the lake falls below that level, the LCRA sometimes releases water from upstream reservoirs to make up the difference. Those releases can draw down\u00a0Austin’s\u00a0municipal water\u00a0supply in Lake Travis. In that way, the\u00a0unnecessary\u00a0release of water from Longhorn Dam can\u00a0impact\u00a0Austin’s\u00a0depleted upstream reservoirs.<\/p>\n

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