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GBRA Draining Lakes #13248819 08/15/19 03:50 PM
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I don't have access to the full story, but I saw this morning that the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority will be draining the remaining lakes on the Guadalupe. I have to assume that means McQueeney and Placid? It says due to imminent danger posed by the failing dams. You know this kinda sucks! Dunlap was one of my favorite lakes. Not only was it really close to me, but it was a great fishery. Also Placid, I don't know that lake as well as Dunlap, but I still really always enjoyed fishing that lake. By chance has anyone else heard any more details about this?


Jane says I've never been in love - no
She don't know what it is
She only knows if someone wants her
Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Urban Fisher] #13248852 08/15/19 04:18 PM
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Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Takes Step to Mitigate Risk
Posed by Hydro Dams – Drawdown of Guadalupe Valley Lakes to begin September 16 –
SEGUIN, TEXAS – In an effort to ensure the safety of the surrounding communities, the
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) will begin a systematic drawdown of the
Guadalupe Valley Lakes on September 16, 2019. Third-party engineering assessments
have determined a drawdown is the only available option for minimizing the risks
associated with the aging dams.
“Safety is our top priority. We understand this is an unpopular decision, but one that we
feel is unavoidable given the dangers associated with these dams,†said GBRA General
Manager and CEO Kevin Patteson. “GBRA is committed to working closely with the lake
associations and the community to mitigate the impact of this difficult, but necessary
decision.â€
GBRA has coordinated with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to devise a
dewatering plan designed to minimize impacts to the environment. The dewatering will
begin at the southern-most lake, Lake Gonzales, on September 16, and continue upstream
to Meadow Lake, Lake Placid and Lake McQueeney. The drawdown is expected to take
three days per lake with the dewatering of all lakes completed by the end of September,
barring any unforeseen delays. GBRA is making efforts to communicate directly with
affected property owners providing advanced written notice by mail on August 16 and
additional written communications with specific information about the drawdown before
it begins.
The hydroelectric dams that form the recreational lakes along the Guadalupe River have
surpassed the end of their useful life at more than 90 years old. Over the past several
years, GBRA has instituted a variety of safety measures – including adding signage and
buoys, establishing and extending restricted zones around the dams and installing realtime monitoring cameras as well as sirens and public address systems – to warn people
of the hazard. Despite these efforts, monitoring systems continue to capture people
within the restricted areas close to – and in some instances on top of – the dams,
intensifying public safety concerns.
2
Despite regular maintenance – including significant repairs made to the dams following
the floods of 1998 and 2002 – assessment by nationally recognized engineering firm Black
& Veatch has indicated the original structural steel components at each of the dams are
compromised. Following the spillgate failure at Lake Wood in 2016, Freese and Nichols,
Inc. identified the cause of the failure and GBRA began emergency repairs to address this
issue at other dams. While the failures at Lake Wood and Lake Dunlap were both due to
deterioration of original steel components, the failure at Lake Dunlap was attributed to
an entirely different issue than the failure at Lake Wood, intensifying concerns
surrounding the unpredictability of spillgate failures.
Ensuring the long-term sustainability of the dams is a community endeavor. GBRA is
working in partnership with the Guadalupe Valley Lakes lake associations and affected
residents, as well as city and county officials, to determine the best course of action for
identifying, funding and completing the necessary replacement of the dams. A dedicated
website, GVLakes.com, has been established to keep the community updated of this
evolving situation and provide contact information for key stakeholders.
###
About the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority was established by the Texas Legislature in 1933 as a water
conservation and reclamation district. GBRA provides stewardship for the water resources in its 10-county
statutory district which begins near the headwaters of the Guadalupe and Blanco rivers, ends at San Antonio
Bay, and includes Kendall, Comal, Hays, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Gonzales, DeWitt, Victoria, Calhoun and


Transgenders: God made them, the devil changed their minds.
Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Urban Fisher] #13248856 08/15/19 04:22 PM
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Transgenders: God made them, the devil changed their minds.
Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Urban Fisher] #13248869 08/15/19 04:35 PM
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Wow thanks Bill! That definitely explains it. Man there are going to be some P'd-off land owners around those lakes.


Jane says I've never been in love - no
She don't know what it is
She only knows if someone wants her
Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: BillS2006] #13248912 08/15/19 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted by BillS2006
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Takes Step to Mitigate Risk
Posed by Hydro Dams – Drawdown of Guadalupe Valley Lakes to begin September 16 –
SEGUIN, TEXAS – In an effort to ensure the safety of the surrounding communities, the
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) will begin a systematic drawdown of the
Guadalupe Valley Lakes on September 16, 2019. Third-party engineering assessments
have determined a drawdown is the only available option for minimizing the risks
associated with the aging dams.
“Safety is our top priority. We understand this is an unpopular decision, but one that we
feel is unavoidable given the dangers associated with these dams,†said GBRA General
Manager and CEO Kevin Patteson. “GBRA is committed to working closely with the lake
associations and the community to mitigate the impact of this difficult, but necessary
decision.â€
GBRA has coordinated with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to devise a
dewatering plan designed to minimize impacts to the environment. The dewatering will
begin at the southern-most lake, Lake Gonzales, on September 16, and continue upstream
to Meadow Lake, Lake Placid and Lake McQueeney. The drawdown is expected to take
three days per lake with the dewatering of all lakes completed by the end of September,
barring any unforeseen delays. GBRA is making efforts to communicate directly with
affected property owners providing advanced written notice by mail on August 16 and
additional written communications with specific information about the drawdown before
it begins.
The hydroelectric dams that form the recreational lakes along the Guadalupe River have
surpassed the end of their useful life at more than 90 years old. Over the past several
years, GBRA has instituted a variety of safety measures – including adding signage and
buoys, establishing and extending restricted zones around the dams and installing realtime monitoring cameras as well as sirens and public address systems – to warn people
of the hazard. Despite these efforts, monitoring systems continue to capture people
within the restricted areas close to – and in some instances on top of – the dams,
intensifying public safety concerns.
2
Despite regular maintenance – including significant repairs made to the dams following
the floods of 1998 and 2002 – assessment by nationally recognized engineering firm Black
& Veatch has indicated the original structural steel components at each of the dams are
compromised. Following the spillgate failure at Lake Wood in 2016, Freese and Nichols,
Inc. identified the cause of the failure and GBRA began emergency repairs to address this
issue at other dams. While the failures at Lake Wood and Lake Dunlap were both due to
deterioration of original steel components, the failure at Lake Dunlap was attributed to
an entirely different issue than the failure at Lake Wood, intensifying concerns
surrounding the unpredictability of spillgate failures.
Ensuring the long-term sustainability of the dams is a community endeavor. GBRA is
working in partnership with the Guadalupe Valley Lakes lake associations and affected
residents, as well as city and county officials, to determine the best course of action for
identifying, funding and completing the necessary replacement of the dams. A dedicated
website, GVLakes.com, has been established to keep the community updated of this
evolving situation and provide contact information for key stakeholders.
###
About the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority was established by the Texas Legislature in 1933 as a water
conservation and reclamation district. GBRA provides stewardship for the water resources in its 10-county
statutory district which begins near the headwaters of the Guadalupe and Blanco rivers, ends at San Antonio
Bay, and includes Kendall, Comal, Hays, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Gonzales, DeWitt, Victoria, Calhoun and




That say's it all!


Side Note: Guess that it will be just a river bed and no wide areas for ski boating. Wonder what the financial impact on both property values and revenue that water recreation brings in?

Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: BillS2006] #13248941 08/15/19 05:49 PM
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 75,520
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Originally Posted by BillS2006
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Takes Step to Mitigate Risk
Posed by Hydro Dams – Drawdown of Guadalupe Valley Lakes to begin September 16 –
SEGUIN, TEXAS – In an effort to ensure the safety of the surrounding communities, the
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) will begin a systematic drawdown of the
Guadalupe Valley Lakes on September 16, 2019. Third-party engineering assessments
have determined a drawdown is the only available option for minimizing the risks
associated with the aging dams.
“Safety is our top priority. We understand this is an unpopular decision, but one that we
feel is unavoidable given the dangers associated with these dams,†said GBRA General
Manager and CEO Kevin Patteson. “GBRA is committed to working closely with the lake
associations and the community to mitigate the impact of this difficult, but necessary
decision.â€
GBRA has coordinated with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to devise a
dewatering plan designed to minimize impacts to the environment. The dewatering will
begin at the southern-most lake, Lake Gonzales, on September 16, and continue upstream
to Meadow Lake, Lake Placid and Lake McQueeney. The drawdown is expected to take
three days per lake with the dewatering of all lakes completed by the end of September,
barring any unforeseen delays. GBRA is making efforts to communicate directly with
affected property owners providing advanced written notice by mail on August 16 and
additional written communications with specific information about the drawdown before
it begins.
The hydroelectric dams that form the recreational lakes along the Guadalupe River have
surpassed the end of their useful life at more than 90 years old. Over the past several
years, GBRA has instituted a variety of safety measures – including adding signage and
buoys, establishing and extending restricted zones around the dams and installing realtime monitoring cameras as well as sirens and public address systems – to warn people
of the hazard. Despite these efforts, monitoring systems continue to capture people
within the restricted areas close to – and in some instances on top of – the dams,
intensifying public safety concerns.
2
Despite regular maintenance – including significant repairs made to the dams following
the floods of 1998 and 2002 – assessment by nationally recognized engineering firm Black
& Veatch has indicated the original structural steel components at each of the dams are
compromised. Following the spillgate failure at Lake Wood in 2016, Freese and Nichols,
Inc. identified the cause of the failure and GBRA began emergency repairs to address this
issue at other dams. While the failures at Lake Wood and Lake Dunlap were both due to
deterioration of original steel components, the failure at Lake Dunlap was attributed to
an entirely different issue than the failure at Lake Wood, intensifying concerns
surrounding the unpredictability of spillgate failures.
Ensuring the long-term sustainability of the dams is a community endeavor. GBRA is
working in partnership with the Guadalupe Valley Lakes lake associations and affected
residents, as well as city and county officials, to determine the best course of action for
identifying, funding and completing the necessary replacement of the dams. A dedicated
website, GVLakes.com, has been established to keep the community updated of this
evolving situation and provide contact information for key stakeholders.
###
About the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority was established by the Texas Legislature in 1933 as a water
conservation and reclamation district. GBRA provides stewardship for the water resources in its 10-county
statutory district which begins near the headwaters of the Guadalupe and Blanco rivers, ends at San Antonio
Bay, and includes Kendall, Comal, Hays, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Gonzales, DeWitt, Victoria, Calhoun and



That is it in a nut shell! Well stated!
thumb


Side Note: I would also wonder what the financial impact is going to be? noidea Going to miss fishing some of those docks! Dunlap dock fishing is a thing of the past, with the rest of the river lakes to follow! eeks


[Linked Image][Linked Image]

IGFA World Record Rio Grande Cichlid. Lake Dunlap.

John 3:16

Sinner's Prayer. God forgive me a sinner. I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior !
Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Urban Fisher] #13249009 08/15/19 06:43 PM
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When they shut down McQueeney from public access due to the businesses being bought out by developers I already know how it feels, so I'm a little numb to the news.


Just one more cast!

Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Urban Fisher] #13249114 08/15/19 08:44 PM
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I hope the state legislature is seeing his. They had a chance to fix the problem but GBRA convinced them to let it run it's course. Now the Guadalupe Valley will experience billions of dollars in losses to to the economy and taxing entities are going to catch hates from the taxpayers.


Transgenders: God made them, the devil changed their minds.
Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: BillS2006] #13249293 08/15/19 11:23 PM
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Originally Posted by BillS2006
I hope the state legislature is seeing his. They had a chance to fix the problem but GBRA convinced them to let it run it's course. Now the Guadalupe Valley will experience billions of dollars in losses to to the economy and taxing entities are going to catch hates from the taxpayers.




It has been one very BIG mess since the Dunlap dam break! Got a gut feeling that the GBRA knew what was going to happen after the Lake Wood Dam break! hmmm Like I have said. I am going to miss that river lake dock fishing! nuts


[Linked Image][Linked Image]

IGFA World Record Rio Grande Cichlid. Lake Dunlap.

John 3:16

Sinner's Prayer. God forgive me a sinner. I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior !
Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Urban Fisher] #13249689 08/16/19 01:23 PM
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It's not all doom and gloom unless they just sit on their hands and do nothing but complain.
Those folks have a lot of money, and a lot of money invested so they need to look for ways to bring people into the area and still spend money.
Just look up the road in the river road area at how those folks deal with a river and not a lake.
Bring back some of those pay to play, parks and campsites, like the old days.


Just one more cast!

Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Jimbo] #13250049 08/16/19 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Jimbo
It's not all doom and gloom unless they just sit on their hands and do nothing but complain.
Those folks have a lot of money, and a lot of money invested so they need to look for ways to bring people into the area and still spend money.
Just look up the road in the river road area at how those folks deal with a river and not a lake.
Bring back some of those pay to play, parks and campsites, like the old days.




I see your point Jimbo but the SUPER RICH who live on a public lake that they made private see it another way! Without a ski club and a nice lake side view, their property values loose half their value. Besides no body living on Mcqueeney would want a bunch of drunk tubers floating by their one million dollar homes, much less a bunch of bank anglers or anglers in a jon boat setting out jug lines or tree lines. And further more lord forbid that a RV park wants to be put in! scared

Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Gitter Done] #13250626 08/17/19 03:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Gitter Done
Originally Posted by Jimbo
It's not all doom and gloom unless they just sit on their hands and do nothing but complain.
Those folks have a lot of money, and a lot of money invested so they need to look for ways to bring people into the area and still spend money.
Just look up the road in the river road area at how those folks deal with a river and not a lake.
Bring back some of those pay to play, parks and campsites, like the old days.




I see your point Jimbo but the SUPER RICH who live on a public lake that they made private see it another way! Without a ski club and a nice lake side view, their property values loose half their value. Besides no body living on Mcqueeney would want a bunch of drunk tubers floating by their one million dollar homes, much less a bunch of bank anglers or anglers in a jon boat setting out jug lines or tree lines. And further more lord forbid that a RV park wants to be put in! scared


That being the case and understood, they can enjoy their mudhole in peace, and why a lot of folks find it hard to feel sorry for them.


Just one more cast!

Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Urban Fisher] #13250798 08/17/19 02:18 PM
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I saw this coming last month. A very good friend of mine lives on Treasure Island. Very sad. I was lucky to have both a nice dock and a place to launch my kayak on Mcqueeney. We fished that lake a lot it has been my favorite place to fish. Just as Chuck BAF had Dunlap as his home lake, Mcqueeney was my home lake. I also like Chuck fished Placid a lot and both Meadow and Wood lake a lot. I could go any given day before the Lake Wood dam break and limit out easily on crappie. Would also catch some very nice bass and Bluegill. After the Lake Wood Dam break the good fishing was completely over. The fish never made the adjustment. I have fished Dunlap three times since the Dunlap Dam break and the fishing was poor to say the least. Several friends of mine have done good on Dunlap since the dam break but all have stated that the fishing is going "down hill" fast. Quality and numbers on both Lake Wood and Dunlap are bad! The water levels after the dam breaks have taken away vital structure that fish needed. It also lowered numbers of bait fish. I was hoping on Lake Wood that some Hydrilla beds would form along with some grass beds but that has not taken place yet. You can still catch some nice fish from both Lake Wood and Lake Dunlap but they will be few and far between. The days for good numbers are over and will be completely
over by the end of September when the remaining river lakes are drained down! Just my two cents! 2cents


Side Note: My friend who has attended a lot of the HOA meetings on Mcqueeney has said that he knows no plans to repair the dams. He also said that if the dams were to be repaired it will take 5 to 7 years to complete! noidea

Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Urban Fisher] #13250845 08/17/19 03:24 PM
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I drove out to Lake Wood yesterday, just to see what the lake bed looks like after in 3.5 years. It looks just like any overgrown pasture in Texas, except it is willows and blood weeds and they have done well in the lake bed silt. I didn't take a pic, but some resident has put up a sign that says "Dry Lake Texas population 27. At least the still have a sense of humor. But all the houses are deteriorating and are not being well kept. Not all but a lot.

Lake Gonzales (H-4) will be hit hard also when they drop the water level. Most of those home are on the slough and will be a long way from the river channel.

But, no fear! Our wanna be governor, Senator Kolkhorst is in constant contact with GBRA and I'm sure she will get the water back.....righ after she is elected governor. NOT!


Transgenders: God made them, the devil changed their minds.
Re: GBRA Draining Lakes [Re: Urban Fisher] #13250861 08/17/19 03:46 PM
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A lot of very good fishing lakes are becoming a thing of the past! It's a total shame! soap

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