{"id":7306,"date":"2012-03-12T14:51:32","date_gmt":"2012-03-12T20:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=7306"},"modified":"2012-03-12T14:51:32","modified_gmt":"2012-03-12T20:51:32","slug":"lcra-water-plan-goes-to-tceq-for-approval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/12\/lcra-water-plan-goes-to-tceq-for-approval\/","title":{"rendered":"LCRA Water Plan Goes to TCEQ for Approval"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo courtesy of LCRA<\/p>

LCRA General Manager Becky Motal says the new plan will help protect LCRA customers during severe droughts<\/p><\/div>\n

A new plan that would significantly change how water is managed in the Highland Lakes region of Central Texas was sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for review and approval today. The plan was adopted by the Lower Colorado River Authority<\/a> (LCRA) in late February. The TCEQ now has up to a year to look over the plan, but the actual approval may only take a few months.<\/p>\n

The new\u00a0plan<\/a>\u00a0would change how water is allocated from Lakes Buchanan and Travis, the two main reservoirs for water in Central Texas (including the city of Austin). Under the changes being proposed, less water would be diverted for agricultural use during dry periods (when certain requirements aren’t met for how much water is in the lakes at a given time), and more water reserved for municipal and commercial use.<\/p>\n

It took 18 months for a group representing the various interests that depend on the lake — farmers, municipalities, industry and lake residents and businesses, to name a few — to agree on a plan to present to the LCRA. The board at the LCRA approved that plan on February 22<\/a>, with\u00a0ten on the board in favor and five against, with all of the against votes coming from LCRA board members that represent counties downstream of Austin and the Highland Lakes.<\/p>\n

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