Dunlap.....Not sure what to make of this?

https://texasfishingforum.com/forum.../gonew/1/lake-dunlap-damn-failure#UNREAD

Reports say it will be empty tonight.

Good Freakin grief...just what we don't need...

Bad News all around. This will have a major impact on the local economy. The water recreation summer season for the river lakes is right around the corner.

Totally unbelievable, So much for the fishing on the Guadalupe River! Also the Wake Boats,Ski Boats,and Jet skis will have to wait till next year. If they can't get the gate fixed fast this will be one economic disaster for the Comal/Guadalupe County area.




Side Note: Several years ago the dam gate at Lake Wood broke. The lake bed has been dry since then. Only the actual river bed has water. I heard that the GBRA did not have the funds to repair it and they were just going to leave it alone.

Like you said Chuck, economic impact will be greater for this lake (than Lake Wood). Also some “monied” people live on that lake. It’ll get fixed.

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If Dunlap goes down to the river channel and stays there that’s going to greatly increase the number of fish per volume of water. Might have wait for the muck to dry out but there will be some honey holes for the bank fishermen that want to take it on.

It seems that GBRA is financial strapped. Lake Wood failed at least three years ago and they have only gave lip service to the residents of the Gonzales area about any repairs to that dam. GBRA continues to say we are working with engineers on solutions but the cost to make repairs will be enormous. Ok move forward to today and a second dam on the system has failed. When Gonzales and Cuero flood sometime in the future because there is no flood control on the river how much is that economic impact going to be? If GBRA can't take care of their business, maybe it's time for The State of Texas to step in and oversee this fiasco. I'm betting GBRA is operating on a shoestring budget and could not fund repairs to Lake Wood or Lake Dunlap not to mention the other flood gates on the river that need replacement.

John Peebles sent me these pics from today

I can remember several years ago after some major flooding the GBRA drained Lake Dunlap so they could remove cars and RV's that had been washed into the lake. It took about 3 months for that project. I can remember that people were bank fishing the main river channel and catching some nice fish.



Side Note: As already been sated. There is some very expensive real estate on that lake and I bet the GBRA will be getting the repairs done very quickly!

The gates on those other dams downstream are probably in the same shape and could fail as well....Not a happy thought!

I believe things will get interesting, GBRA has still not taken action on the Lake Wood(H5) dam failure. I would think repairing Dunlap before Wood would cause a few lawsuits to happen, as the city of Gonzales and the Friends of Lake Wood are not happy with GBRA.

One HUGE MESS! The GBRA has a lot of explaining to do! First it was Lake Wood several years ago. Now it's Lake Dunlap! Maybe some changes in the GBRA are due!

One very costly problem! Hate news like this.

None of the dams below Canyon are flood control. Electric power generating only. The design of the dams can't hold any water back in floods, the water simply goes over the top.

That said, I bet GBRA comes up with the money to fix Dunlap real quick while the Lake Wood residents have lost about half their property value.

They found 6.5 million to build a new office complex, but no money to fix dams. Yeah, right.

I honesty wish it was McQueeney. Them folks out there don’t seem to like to share their lake. At least Dunlap still had public access. But after Lake Wood and now Dunlap, I bet they are scared.

One would almost think it would be in the state's best interest to take over the lakes, repair them and provide public access or parks. Mcqueeny has no public access at this time, Meadow lake dam looks horrible. The state should have been more involved years ago and the counties should be raising cane over the lost property values as well.

I cant say this is fact but, today I was told that the dams are owned by GBRA and no private entity can repair them, something to do with liability.

Buying land can be just as speculative as the stock market. If one bought a million dollar house on a lake with an old and questionable dam, it’s not the states problem to fix it to make sure they still have a million dollar house. Especially for a lake that doesn’t have public access. It’s a risk they took and I have no sympathy for them.

Oh I agree with you on the real estate issue, I just dont want to lose any more fishing holes

Tough deal all the way around. I know these structures are extremely aged and in need of repair. I know the earthquake in Smiley was just a 3.1. But, I'm just wondering if it might have had something to do with the failure. Especially, since the structures are compromised due to age.

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They are still there, but now they just don’t have a bunch of high ballast ski boats and jet skis running around. All you need now is a kayak.

The one and only cause of these dam failures is the complete failure to maintain the structures. GBRA should be dissolved and the Guadalupe River dams be transferred to LCRA. GBRA has failed to hold up their own charter as operator of the Guadalupe River system. They are nothing more than a good old boys club that only cares about flying to exotic locations in the name of "meetings".

The GBRA needs to come up with some answers! I can see some law suits being filed in the future!

And has many times, and a wonder that they've held as long as they have.....Now with two down, what about the others?
All are basically the same design and a reason for serious concern!

If the state were to step in, there had better be some state park public access to ALL the lakes if those funds were to be used.

I totally agree with you Jimbo. The State needs to step in! It is obvious that the GBRA is a total joke. I have friends that live on Lake Mcqueeney and Dunlap and they have some very negative things to say about the GBRA. I got a strong feeling that there will be some legal problems for the GBRA down the road.

Just from what I've read, so I'm no expert when it comes to these lakes, but my understanding is they were used for hydro electric generating and that they haven't been used for quite a while.
If that's the case, they only function as lakes for recreation only, and as for flood control, they don't serve that purpose either as the water during a flood just goes over the top, so no real function in that regard.
Since there is no money generated to maintain or repair the dams, they are all now in limbo until someone in the private sector can come up with a way to fund the repairs which seems unlikely.
As for the state stepping in and saving the day, I don't see it happening unless there are some political arms that can be twisted and backs to be scratched.
I just hope if any public funds were to be used, there would be public access to ALL the lakes, and not just money used to keep home and property values up for the homeowners around the lakes.
If I lived or had property on McQueeney I would be very nervous about now!

I believe you hit the nail on the head Jimbo.

Totally agree however any property owner who has property on all of the Hydro Lakes needs to be very very nervous! I do not see the State of Texas bailing out the GBRA or the home owners. Just my two cents.

The federal government WILL get involved at some point. The dam at Gonzales, owned by the City of Gonzales, is right now undergoing re-certification. That involves 3 million investment to repair the generators and some structural repairs. If the repairs were not done, the city was facing 7 million to de-certify and make the dam structural safe.

At some point, GBRA WILL have to do the same. Just depends on when their certification expires.

Yep, any money that would be used toward a lawsuit would be better served pledging money to a politicians campaign have them get the ball rolling on funds to fix those lakes.
I'm sure there are some property owners with deep enough pockets to get a politicians attention.