LCRA plans public review process for proposed Water Management Plan revisionLCRA has been working with the Water Management Plan Advisory Committee to finish up the proposed updates to the plan that determines how water from lakes Buchanan and Travis is allocated. The proposed update is scheduled to be posted for public review and comment on Jan. 24.The draft plan will be posted at LCRA.org and the public will be invited to submit comments via email. Comments will be due by Feb. 9. The public will also have the opportunity to comment on the plan at two LCRA meetings. These are tentatively scheduled for the Feb. 21 Water Operations Committee meeting and the Feb. 22 regular Board of Directors meeting. The Board may consider the updated plan at its Feb. 22 meeting. LCRA has used a state-approved Water Management Plan to manage lakes Buchanan and Travis since 1989. The plan was updated in 1992, 1999 and 2010. Once the Board approves the plan, it will be sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for final approval. The 16-member advisory committee assisting LCRA is made up of members that represent the major and sometimes competing interests that rely on the lakes' water: cities and industry, environment, lake area businesses and residents, and agriculture. The committee has been working since July 2010 to come to consensus on recommendations for updating the plan. For more information on the Water Management Plan and the advisory committee's work, please go to www.lcra.org/watermanagementplan. The final issue the committee worked on involves potential procedures LCRA would use to manage the lakes when the Colorado River basin experiences remarkably dry or wetter than normal conditions. LCRA's Board discussed the issue at its Jan. 17 Water Operations Committee meeting. In December, TCEQ approved LCRA's request to amend its current Water Management Plan to cut back or cut off Highland Lakes water to downstream farmers next year if the drought does not improve significantly. You can read more about that decision here. That decision is not affected by any of the proposed changes to the Water Management Plan under discussion. |
 
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About LCRAThe Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is a nonprofit conservation and reclamation district that provides energy, water, and community services to Texans. Created by the Texas Legislature in 1934, LCRA has no taxing authority and operates solely on utility revenues and service fees. LCRA supplies electricity to more than 1.1 million Texans through more than 40 wholesale customers. LCRA also provides many other services in the region. These services include managing floods, protecting the quality of the lower Colorado River and its tributaries, providing parks and recreational facilities, offering economic development assistance, operating water and wastewater utilities, and providing soil, energy, and water conservation programs. |
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