Austin Water contractors temporarily fix broken gate at Longhorn Dam | FOX 7 Austin

Austin Water contractors temporarily fix broken gate at Longhorn Dam

A temporary fix has been made at the Longhorn Dam after a broken gate caused water levels to drop at Lady Bird Lake on Tuesday. 

Gradual rise of approximately 3 to 4 inches per hour is expected over the course of Wednesday afternoon into the evening.

What happened?

The backstory:

During scheduled work earlier on Tuesday, Jan. 28, one of nine gates at Longhorn Dam failed to close, causing the Lady Bird Lake level to begin dropping.

The cause of the failure is under investigation. 

On Tuesday, the water level at Lady Bird Lake was down about two-feet below normal. 

What they're saying:

"I got a text from somebody down in Bastrop that said that there was something going on with the dam and to expect about a 10-foot wall of water coming down," said Steve Box, Environmental Stewardship Executive Director.

"They're working on the floodgates, and it got stuck," said Box. "The old equipment sometimes does that." 

"Those cranes over there are probably trying to pull it up or something like that," said Box. 

Temporary fix

What's next:

On Tuesday evening, Austin Water contractors were able to manually stop the flow of water with a series of temporary barriers, called stop-logs. 

The stop-logs were installed to seal the gate, and it helped stabilize the water levels at Lady Bird Lake.

The temporary stop-logs will remain in place for several months until permanent repairs are made.

Austin Water and the Lower Colorado River Authority will now work together on a timetable for the gradual refill of Lady Bird Lake.

The Source: Information from the City of Austin

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