LCRA GM: ‘No decision has been made’

October 25, 2012, 8:00 pm by Adam Troxtell

 The general manager of the Lower Colorado River Authority has issued a response to criticism it faced after staff did not recommend to the LCRA board an extension of an emergency order regarding the release of water for agricultural use.

Some Highland Lakes stakeholders and officials and other state water organization officials said they believed this meant the LCRA was already prepared to drain some water from reservoirs Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis for downstream rice farmers to irrigate their crops.

LCRA General Manager Becky Motal said Thursday this is not the case, and explained staff’s reasoning behind their recommendation.

In its October meeting, the LCRA told its Board of Directors that extending a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) emergency order would not be necessary based on the current projections and forecasts available, Motal said.

"As staff noted at the October Board meeting, lake levels are higher than they were at this time last year,” Motal said. "Also, at that time there was still a chance that an El Niño weather pattern would bring more rain to the region. That forecast has changed since staff’s October report was prepared, and that may affect the Board’s decision.”

For more on this story, see Friday's Highlander.