KOLKHORST TOURS RESERVOIR PROJECT

  

State Senator Lois W. Kolkhorst and the Lower Colorado River Authority had an opportunity last week for their first look at the Lane City Reservoir since construction began in January.

Scheduled to be completed in 2018, the reservoir is located off the main channel of the Colorado River in Wharton County.

The project is expected to add 90,000 acre-feet of firm water to the region’s water supply.

"This is the first significant Colorado River project of its kind below the Austin dams in decades, as well as being the first reservoir built in Texas in over 30 years," said Kolkhorst. "With the recent floods, if the project had already been built, this reservoir could have been filled almost seven times in the last few months of rain. That's why this reservoir is a giant step forward in meeting the future water needs of our region."

Pictured from left to right: LCRA Board Member Steve Cooper (Wharton County),  LCRA Board Member Joe Crane (Matagorda County), LCRA Executive Director Phil Wilson, Senator Lois Kolkhorst, former LCRA Board Member Scott Arbuckle, Fayette County Judge  Ed Janecka and Wharton County Judge Phillip Spenwrath.
Pictured from left to right: LCRA Board Member Steve Cooper (Wharton County), LCRA Board Member Joe Crane (Matagorda County), LCRA Executive Director Phil Wilson, Senator Lois Kolkhorst, former LCRA Board Member Scott Arbuckle, Fayette County Judge Ed Janecka and Wharton County Judge Phillip Spenwrath.

The Lane City Reservoir is being built to take advantage of the wetter climate in the lower basin of the Colorado River and is designed to capture and store runoff generated by rain that flows downstream of Lake Travis and the Austin area. The Lane City Reservoir will store more water than Lake Marble Falls, Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake combined.

"Many thanks should go to the past and present LCRA board members and their staff for making this plan a reality," said Kolkhorst. "I am hopeful that this off-channel reservoir can serve as a model for other basins across the state that face similar water demands and scarcity."

Additional benefits of the new reservoir include lessening the demands on the Highland Lakes by improving the supply and reliability of downstream water for agriculture and industry.   The project is also expected to reduce the chance that "interruptible water contracts" will be forced to be cut back or cut off to the lower basin during future droughts.

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