The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers takes Flood Risk Management measures to ensure Public Safety on and around Canyon Lake

Published May 27, 2015

FORT WORTH, Texas – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District has heightened its flood risk management operations to ensure the public’s safety in and around Canyon Lake. 

Heavy rainfall fell in the Upper Guadalupe River Basin above Canyon Lake on May 23, totaling two to seven inches from Kerrville to Canyon Lake.  Most of that rainfall created runoff that flowed into Guadalupe River. 

While Canyon Lake is used by the public for recreation purposes, the primary mission for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the lake is for flood risk management.  The Corps is currently holding flood water at Canyon Lake to lessen the risk of flood conditions in communities downstream of Canyon Dam.

“Canyon Lake has 60 percent of its flood storage capacity remaining and the Corps will make significant flood releases once it has been determined that doing so will not worsen downstream flooding,” said Canyon Lake Manager, Marcus Schimank. 

While the Corps is taking every possible measure to avoid flooding, there is an area of concern with the flood releases near Gonzales. The Guadalupe River has a capacity of 12,000 cubic feet per second at that location. Forecasts from the National Weather Service on Tuesday, May 26 had the Guadalupe River at Gonzales reaching 69,000 cfs during the early afternoon of Wednesday, May 27. An actual peak flow of 42,400 cfs was recorded on May 27 at 2 a.m. with flows slowly dropping but still over 30,000 cfs through the afternoon of May 27. 

The Corps made a decision not to make large flood releases from May 24 to the morning hours of May 28 to avoid adding more flood water on top of already high flood flows. 

Currently, most of the flood storage capacity at Canyon Lake is available. “The Corps will continue to monitor and use every resource available to help prevent further flooding downstream.  The goal is to recover 100 percent of our flood storage capacity but we will not do this at the expense of our downstream communities,” added Schimank.

Corps personnel at Canyon Lake are performing routine inspections and keeping a close eye on the dam. District personnel in the Corps Water Management are closely monitoring inflows, the lake’s elevation, downstream conditions and staying in close communication with downstream entities to ensure they make the best decision on any flood releases from Canyon Dam.

“The public should be assured that Canyon Dam is functioning as it is designed to and inspections & instrumentation readings completed on Monday May 25 confirm that everything is working as it is supposed to,” said Schimank.

For additional and specific information about our lake operations at Canyon Lake, please call the lake office at 830-964-3341 or the Fort Worth District’s Public Affairs Office at 817-886-1306.

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About the Fort Worth District: The Fort Worth District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was established in 1950. The District is responsible for water resources development in two-thirds of Texas, and design and construction at military installations in Texas and parts of Louisiana and New Mexico.  Visit the Fort Worth District Web site at: www.swf.usace.army.mil and SWF Face book at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Worth-District-US-Army-Corps-of-Engineers/188083711219308
Contact
Rhonda Paige
817-886-1312

Release no. 15-028