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Torrential rains flood the Hill Country

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Lake Travis already 12 feet above normal and rising; couple missing
A massive thunderstorm struck Williamson County on Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, with some areas receiving up to 19 inches of rain. The storm led to considerable flooding in Central Texas this week, and may have claimed the life of a Williamson County woman and her boyfriend. More wet weather is forecast through the weekend.

Brandi Rena Deluna, 29, has been out of contact with relatives since Tuesday. Her boyfriend Esteban Geraldo Martinez, 26, is also believed to be missing. Their 2002 four door Mitsubishi Galant was found Wednesday on County Road 279 and Antlers Trail outside of Liberty Hill in a low water crossing. Anyone with information about the couple was urged to call the Williamson County Sheriff's Office.

Lake Travis was at an elevation of 693.6 feet above mean sea level (msl) on Thursday morning. The Lower Colorado River Authority projected the lake could rise as high as 697 feet above msl by Thursday afternoon. With additional rain, the lake could rise even higher. Lake Travis is holding the floodwaters until they can be safely released downstream - one of the main functions the lake was designed to handle.

At 11 a.m. Wednesday, LCRA opened a fourth floodgate at Mansfield Dam, which forms Lake Travis. Lake Travis will begin spilling over at 714 feet above msl. At 697 feet above msl, the lake still has available flood pool capacity.

The last time four gates were open at Mansfield Dam was during the “Thanksgiving Flood” of November 2004. At an elevation range of 687 to 690, Lake Travis would affect houses that have been built deep in the lake's flood pool, such as in the Graveyard Point community.

LCRA has temporarily closed Inks Lake and lakes Travis, Marble Falls, LBJ to recreational boating because of a danger from debris. Lake Buchanan was open for boating as of Wednesday, though the LCRA advised extreme caution. The city of Austin has closed recreational activities on Lake Austin, Town Lake and the Colorado River downstream of Longhorn Dam in the city limits. Ramps operated by Travis County and LCRA are closed.

In order to help people get to and from work on Wednesday, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority opened 183A as a bypass and waived tolls for that particular stretch of road for the day.

The National Guard was deployed to assist with problems caused by the heavy rains. “Ground transportation force packages,” consisting of about 30 Soldiers, 10 high-profile (2.5- or five-ton) trucks along with various support vehicles, were on the move to Liberty Hill, Marble Falls and Cedar Park.

While the communities of Marble Falls and Liberty Hill were hit hard by the Tuesday night storms, Cedar Park made it through relatively unscathed.

Early Wednesday morning around 4 a.m., approximately 10 homes were evacuated near a low water crossing in the 6A ranchette area, north of New Hope Drive and west of FM 1431. The homes sustained minor to moderate flood damage, but the residents have since been allowed to return home.

At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, LCRA General Manager Joe Beal announced that all floodgates on lakes operated by the LCRA were open. In addition to those on Lake Travis, floodgates were opened throughout the Highland Lakes chain.

At 1 p.m. Wednesday, LCRA opened one floodgate at Buchanan Dam, which forms Lake Buchanan. Four floodgates were open at Wirtz Dam, which forms Lake LBJ, while all 10 floodgates were open at Starcke Dam, which forms Lake Marble Falls. At Tom Miller Dam, which forms Lake Austin, two floodgates were fully open and one floodgate was partially open.

Beal said LCRA's lakes were performing exactly as they should, slowing floodwaters for release in a more controlled fashion. “Time and time again, the dams have saved Austin and downstream areas from devastating floods,” Beal said.

As bad as the flooding has been so far, it could be worse. At the peak of the flood on Tuesday night, Starcke Dam had a flow of 150 cubic feet per second, Beal said. In 1997, a flood above Wirtz Dam created a flow of 385 cfs.

Buffalo Gap resident Jason Amador-Locher took his two-year-old daughter Xiola to see the open floodgates on Lake Travis. “I've lived in Texas for three years and I've never seen it this high,” he said. “This is just the beginning. It's still raining. It just depends on how fast they can get this water out.”

Duane and Donna Sprimont of Venus, Texas, have a houseboat on Lake Travis. Both were impressed by the amount of water coming out of the floodgates at Mansfield Dam. “This reminds me of Niagara Falls,” Donna said.

Duane noted it wasn't long ago that drought was the biggest problem for boat owners. “A few months back, we were more worried about having our houseboat sitting on the rocks,” he said. “I'd rather see more water than have our houseboat on the rocks.”

Briarcliff resident Joe Bitner was also impressed by the floodgates, but noted he has seen the water at least 10 feet higher within the last 15 years. “I was out tending the the dock and thought I would come down and see what the floodgates look like,” he said. “I didn't have any problem with the boat because our dock is self-adjusting.”

Bitner said at least two vehicles were flooded in the parking lot at Briarcliff Marina. “A car and a van were flooded,” he said. “People were sleeping on their boats and woke up to find their cars underwater.”

The rising San Gabriel River wreaked most of its havoc in the Georgetown area, but it also made life difficult for drivers by shutting down U.S. 183 early Wednesday morning.

Kathy Goeke arrived at the river at about 8:15 a.m. and found the barricades on U.S. 183. She called 9-1-1 after discovering a dangerous driving situation. Leander Fire Department arrived shortly thereafter to control traffic. The road reopened at around 9 a.m.

“Most did not know the river was over the road,” Goeke said. “There was a tanker truck stuck in the mud being unstuck by two semi tow trucks, so they thought the jam would clear quickly. After they found out about the river, several drove around the barricades, and a number of cars crossed over the median and proceeded to drive northbound on the southbound lanes of 183. It's a miracle no one got hurt.”

Susan Shakespear, who lives on the San Gabriel, said the river got a bit too close for comfort. “We live right on the river,” she said. “I woke up at around 3 a.m. and hear the river roaring. We got an emergency alert call about 6 a.m. By then, the water was just about six feet from our basement.”

Rick Patnaude Jr. was among those watching the San Gabriel from U.S. 183 on Wednesday morning. “We've lived here 20 years, but have never seen this,” he said. “We heard about the bad one [flood] years ago, but this right here is a little creepy. You can see where the branches were ripped from the trees. That is power!”

Drivers should not attempt to drive through water that is causing flooding at low-water crossings through the Central Texas area. Travelers are urged to follow the advice of the National Weather Service's campaign to warn people of the hazards of walking or driving through flood waters: Turn Around Don't Drown�.To check for road closures, call the Texas Department of Transportation Travel and Information Line at 800-452-9292 or visit www.dot.state.tx.us. Check for county road closures on the county website at www.wilco

gov.org.

Citizens can obtain up-to-date information on lake conditions from LCRA's website, www.lcra.org, or by listening to NOAA radio. LCRA also has a hotline available, providing real-time information, at (512) 473-3200.

E-mail charles@hillcountrynews.com

E-mail amy@hillcountrynews.com

Kathy Goeke contributed to this report

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