Crews with the Lower Colorado River Authority plan to open at least one floodgate each at Starcke and Wirtz dams Tuesday morning, sending a surge of floodwater downstream into Lake Travis after days of heavy rain soaked the watershed west of the Highland Lakes. The release follows a stretch of rain that has swollen parts of the Llano River and left officials warning that conditions could shift fast.
Why the Gates Are Opening
According to the Lower Colorado River Authority, heavy rainfall west of the Highland Lakes has driven high flows along parts of the Llano River, prompting the decision to move water downstream through the two dams. The authority says rain is continuing in parts of the watershed and that conditions can change quickly, a caution echoed in reporting from KVUE, which first reported the planned gate openings. LCRA has not announced the exact time the gates will open, and KVUE said it had reached out to the authority for further clarification.
Per LCRA, no additional floodgates are expected to open beyond the one planned at each dam. The floodwater released from Starcke and Wirtz will flow downstream into Lake Travis, which LCRA expects to rise to between 678 and 679 feet above mean sea level over the next 24 to 48 hours.
Upstream Rainfall Fueling the Rise
The flooding concern traces back to the upper Llano River basin, where several inches of rain over the past week led to the potential for flooding of the waterway from Tuesday through Wednesday, according to DailyTrib.com. Farther west, LCRA Hydromet data cited by the outlet showed tributaries of the Llano River in Kimble, Sutton and Edwards counties saw more than five inches of rain over the past week.
That runoff has pushed Llano County under a National Weather Service flood warning running from 12:40 a.m. Tuesday until 7 a.m. Wednesday, the same report noted. The Llano River itself was expected to rise 12 feet on Tuesday, a jump that could cause moderate lowland flooding near its banks.
What Lake Travis Residents Should Watch
With LCRA projecting Lake Travis to climb toward the upper 670s in elevation over the next two days, the floodgate releases at Starcke and Wirtz dams are the mechanism moving that upstream rain into the lake system. The authority's own guidance stresses that watershed conditions remain fluid, and it has not specified a precise opening time for the gates.
