A tree appears to have caused a backup earlier this month that led to one of the spill gates failing and draining Lake Gonzales.

There is no safe way to fix it and no money available to replace all the spill gates at the aging hydro-electric dam, Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, the owner of the dam, said. GBRA operations staff and engineering teams evaluated the gates and came to a conclusion, Executive Manager of Engineering Charlie Hickman said.

“We were really unable to identify any repair mechanisms that could be accomplished in a safe manner that we felt were implementable at this time,” he said. “The recommendation we have still for Lake Gonzales is that we leave the gate in its current condition and pursue, as we have done with the other hydroelectric lakes, a funding solution that will allow for a comprehensive repair of the spill gate and not attempt to address the 90-year-old spill gate that’s currently installed.”

In the early morning hours of Aug. 3, a tree floated down the lake, hit a spill gate, got stuck up against the structure, and remained wedged for some time, Hickman said. The large tree eventually dislodged and floated away but left the spill gate damaged, inoperable and open, he said.

Crews tried hours later to raise the spill gate but were unable to get it to budge, Hickman said. Fixing it would mean getting repair crews on top of the dam and in hazardous positions, which is dangerous, he said.

“For safety reasons, we will not be sending operators back up on the gates,” Hickman said. “We can’t come up with a way to try to perform these repairs that doesn’t require that at some point.”

Three of the six dams in the Guadalupe Lakes System have experienced spill gate failures. Lake Wood was the first, then Lake Dunlap and most recently Lake Gonzales.

Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority leadership has said the dams, all of which were built around 90 years ago, have outlived their usefulness.

Residents along Lake Dunlap, Lake McQueeney and Lake Placid formed Water Control Improvement Districts to pay for replacement of spill gates and save the lakes. Meadow Lake residents are in the process of determining the best way forward to save that lake.

Lake Gonzales and Lake Wood don’t have the population bases to create taxing districts and no other funding sources have been identified to save those lakes, GBRA leaders have said.

As always. "Money Talks"! The GBRA has never been held accountable on none of the dam failures. Just my two cents.

I would like to see the tree that was big enough to break the gate and then simply float away. GBRA's first story was they were operating the gate and it broke. But it is well known that GBRA is just a liar from start to finish.

Just curious as to where all of the money from selling the electricity over the past 90 years has gone. I bet someone or several got rich. To heck with maintenance or setting money aside for upgrades.

It didn't go into maintenance.

Words cannot describe GBRA. They are a group of people that have no ethics, morals, or conscience. What they are doing to people is inexcusable. The state of Texas should be stepping in and helping but we hear nothing but crickets from the state. GBRA is a "subdivision of the state" so everyone washes their hands of responsibility.

They make most of their money from selling water from Canyon and Dunlap. They do not care about the loss of electrical revenue. Basically, they are giving everyone who used the lakes, the middle finger. It is all about the cash and nothing about recreation, local economies, or GBRA's own mission statement.

Most of the generators have been off line for years due to no maintenance. GBRA has already told two stories of what happened. Read the press releases on this thread.

That may be why I said, in my post, they make most of their money from selling water.......... Why don't you read my post before typing?

I did. Just commenting that GBRA has mismanaged the electrical generation by letting the generators fail. You talk about water sales, I talk about electrical generation. Apples and oranges.

I pray for no-one getting hurt or causes damage to there property. Dang shame. SMH

Ibfish,

On Dulap, there have been several bulkheads that have been lost or at the very least settled. Concrete bulkheads and docks have shifted significantly due to the drying of the riverbed.

Many cypress trees (and others) are dead. If people did not jump on watering them early (where they could), they did not make it. A lot of folks are seeing homes shift too. GBRA should pay for all of this nonsense and the replacements of the dams....... It is GBRA's neglect of maintenance that caused this. I can just hope Sutter's law suit goes to the State Supreme court and he wins (doubtful).

I still write a letters weekly. Doesn't do any good but makes me feel better.