2008 Woodie Awards
Flooded Fourth: Several Texas lakes closed due to rising water
By: Staff and Wire
Issue date: 7/3/07 Section: News
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The National Weather Service said that a river flood warning remains in effect for the Brazos, Lavaca, Navasota, Navidad, Tres Palacios and Trinity Rivers.
Lake Travis is closed and is projected to peak between 700 and 701 feet above sea level during the next few days.
Krista Umscheid, a spokesperson for LCRA said that floodgate operations at Lake Travis are based on guidelines from the Army Corps of Engineers.
"We follow Army Corps of Engineers guidelines at Lake Travis because it's a flood control reservoir; it was created to minimize flooding of Austin and downstream," Umscheid said.
Floodgate operation decisions are also based on rainfall already on the ground, not on forecasted rainfall, Umscheid said.
Currently four floodgates are open at Mansfield Dam, which runs into Lake Travis. In order to open a fifth gate, the lake would have to be projected to reach above 710 feet.
In other areas of the state, there have been several areas evacuated, and several people rescued.
Two children were rescued from an Arlington drainage channel after their younger sister, 8, who had also fallen in was able to get out and call for help, said Battalion Chief David Stapp of the Arlington Fire Department.
The 10-year-old girl was plucked from a tree, and the 14-year-old boy was rescued from debris half a mile downstream after he had traveled in high, swift-moving water through at least three viaducts, Stapp said.
They were not seriously injured and were "very lucky," he said.
A handful of people had to be rescued from their homes in Laredo. Officer Joe E. Baeza said a city bus carrying several people was among the six or eight vehicles that stalled out in high waters. Everyone was evacuated safely and the waters were receding by early Monday evening.
The National Weather Service reported about 10 inches of rain had fallen by noon Monday at Corpus Christi International Airport.
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