SRA asks people to send comments to federal commission
The Sabine River Authority agencies of Texas and Louisiana are asking people to contact a federal commission about changes to water release rules at Toledo Bend Reservoir.
The two agencies said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sets the rules for releasing water from the reservoir dam. The dam has two electrical generators, though only one has been operating in the past weeks.
The policies for water releases have been controversial during the past four weeks after heavy rains in northeast Texas and record amounts of water released from the dam.
The SRA in Texas and Louisiana, in the joint statement, said the federal commission considers comments from landowners on the lake and along the river. The website link for comments is at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp.
The two agencies said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sets the rules for releasing water from the reservoir dam. The dam has two electrical generators, though only one has been operating in the past weeks.
The policies for water releases have been controversial during the past four weeks after heavy rains in northeast Texas and record amounts of water released from the dam.
The SRA in Texas and Louisiana, in the joint statement, said the federal commission considers comments from landowners on the lake and along the river. The website link for comments is at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp.
Landowners along Toledo Bend asked the federal commission in 2000 to raise the minimum operating level of the lake to help recreation around the lake. However, landowners downstream wanted the minimum lake level be lowered to protect their properties.
According to the SRA in the two states, the federal commission took two years and looked at both sides. The commission in December 2002 “determined that the existing operating guidelines in the license provide the best balance for all concerned.”
SRA said Toledo Bend reached a record level of 174.36 feet (full level is 172 feet) at 6 a.m. March 10 after a rain event that brought 18 inches of rain directly over the lake during a three-day period. The river authority that day opened all nine gates wide at 22 feet, the largest release in the history of the 50-year-old dam.
Records were also set for Sabine River flooding downstream from the dam. The record for river flooding in Deweyville was set on March 15 when the river their crested at 33.24 feet, breaking a record from 1884. In Orange on March 17 the river crested at 7.62 feet above sea level. That amount is a record from a flood coming from the north on the river. The record in Orange is still the surge from the Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane Ike in 2008.
In the public statement on the SRA Texas website, the river authority said “The Toledo Bend Reservoir spillway gate guidelines approved by the (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) were developed using historical information with includes lake levels and downstream flood events. The guidelines are specifically designed to protect the integrity of the dam and to balance the concerns of upstream and downstream stakeholders.”
According to the SRA in the two states, the federal commission took two years and looked at both sides. The commission in December 2002 “determined that the existing operating guidelines in the license provide the best balance for all concerned.”
SRA said Toledo Bend reached a record level of 174.36 feet (full level is 172 feet) at 6 a.m. March 10 after a rain event that brought 18 inches of rain directly over the lake during a three-day period. The river authority that day opened all nine gates wide at 22 feet, the largest release in the history of the 50-year-old dam.
Records were also set for Sabine River flooding downstream from the dam. The record for river flooding in Deweyville was set on March 15 when the river their crested at 33.24 feet, breaking a record from 1884. In Orange on March 17 the river crested at 7.62 feet above sea level. That amount is a record from a flood coming from the north on the river. The record in Orange is still the surge from the Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane Ike in 2008.
In the public statement on the SRA Texas website, the river authority said “The Toledo Bend Reservoir spillway gate guidelines approved by the (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) were developed using historical information with includes lake levels and downstream flood events. The guidelines are specifically designed to protect the integrity of the dam and to balance the concerns of upstream and downstream stakeholders.”
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