The rains in North Texas have certainly come and gone in the last week, but water is still finding its way into area lakes with a dryer forecast the last few days and the next few.
Benbrook Lake is 11 feet above its conservation pool and is now in flood pool stage. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has closed all but one park and all of the boat ramps. Boat traffic is still permitted.
Trinity Regional Project Recreation Program Business Line Manager James Murphy said the agency cannot release excess water yet, even though the rain has stopped and run-off continues to come in.
Regular water releases for water customers, like cities and water districts, continues as scheduled, but excess water must stay in North Texas for now.
The issue isn’t the Trinity or any of the Corps’ lakes, but rather the lakes and rivers downstream in Central Texas and closer to the Gulf Coast where they saw significant rain and flooding.
Until the levels drop there, the levels in North Texas won’t change much either. Some area lakes get priority to release excess water ahead of the USACE operated reservoirs because some lakes can impact residents, businesses and roadways when levels get too high.
Lake Worth and Lake Bridgeport are closed to boat traffic because wakes from water craft could send flood waters into homes and impact roads.
Parks and boat ramps could remain closed for a while, possibly as late as Labor Day according to a recent Corps news release on closures.
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Murphy says even if the water quickly recedes, they usually wait 10 to 14 days to make sure the ground dries out on asphalt roads and boat ramps to make sure vehicle traffic doesn’t sink the roadway.
Online: USACE Facilities Closure Report
