Drought Report: The cold front that pushed through Texas this past week produced widespread showers as it moved through. The rains reduced the demand for water, but did not generate much to runoff into the District lakes. The impacts of the last week’s rain were generally minor. The low intensity rainfall allowed the dry soil to absorb the rain. Most lakes in the Fort Worth District rose half foot or less and remain below 70 percent of their conservation pool capacities. Only four Corps lakes rose more than one foot, Navarro Mills, Aquilla, Waco and O.C. Fisher. A few isolated areas received heavier amounts of rainfall. The focus area for the most significant rainfall was over the city of Austin where amounts of 10-12 inches were recorded. The storm that hit Austin caused street flooding and damaged to numerous structures but did not add a significant amount of water to the lakes in the Colorado River basin. The North Texas Municipal Water District has authorized their portion of funds for dredging at Jim Chapman Lake. The dredging project is targeting the approach channel to the pump intakes where sediment deposits of 3 feet or more have accumulated. The lake has steadily declined this summer due to high demand and evaporation. The concern is if the drought continues, the lake level may fall to the point where NTMWD and other users will not be able to pump water. Dredging of Chapman is anticipated to begin in early December 2013 and conclude by the end of March 2014. For additional information on individual lakes in the Fort Worth District, control and click on the following web site: www3.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/reports/droughtreport.html. The Facilities Closure Report maintained by CESWF Operations Division may be found at: swf-wc.usace.army.mil/drought/drought.htm.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 15:13:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015