A new $33 million plan to create more water storage gained unanimous approval Jan. 16 from the Lower Colorado River Authority board of directors.
The project aims to add a combined 100,000 acre-feet of water storage annually for the Colorado River basin by 2017.
LCRA will buy property in Wharton County near Lane City to begin engineering on a reservoir that is expected to store 90,000 acre-feet of water annually. The project's first phase will cost $18 million, with the total price coming at an estimated $206 million.
The Lane City reservoir would be built to hold 40,000 acre-feet but can be filled multiple times. The effort marks the first major water supply infrastructure project along the river since the 1970s, according to an LCRA news release.
"Not only would it be the first major reservoir built in the basin in four decades, but it's the first project in our history that would allow us to store significant amounts of water downstream that could be used by multiple customers," LCRA General Manager Becky Motal said in a statement. "That's vitally important to serving the needs of our downstream industrial and agricultural customers, meeting environmental flow requirements and taking pressure off the Highland Lakes."
The board also approved the installation of new groundwater wells in Bastrop County. If the project gains approval from the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District, LCRA will be able to pump up to 10,000 acre-feet per year to serve the Lost Pines Power Park in Bastrop County.
Janet Caylor of the Central Texas Water Coalition, which represents lake-area interests, applauded the decision to increase water capacity but expressed concern over where the extra water will come from.
"If indeed LCRA will utilize management policies to keep that extra stored water upstream in lakes Travis and Buchanan, then everyone wins in this," Caylor said. "The concern is the two major upstream reservoirs might be used to fill those new reservoirs."
