LCA President’s Update – June 22, 2023
LCA President’s Update – June 22, 2023
A rainy Spring thankfully preceded June’s record high temperatures.
As of today, the Lake is essentially at 201’ msl – normal pool. There were no Seasonal Lake Lowering Program (SLLP) releases in April or May despite several significant rain events in that period. We made it through another Spring cycle with no SLLP releases since May of 2021. The result is two years of rational water management and conservation due to the 2022 SLLP compromise agreement led by the LCA. Given the recent hot weather we are fortunate to enter into the hotter high evaporation months at normal pool due to no Spring SLLP releases. This will reduce the chances of very low lake levels in late summer and fall.
We continue to expect that any decisions made regarding SLLP releases in the Fall to be reason based and only due to a clear storm threat. While the current SLLP does allows for 6-12” of reduced lake levels in Spring or Fall it is now clearly worded as “The decision of when, how, and whether to initiate diversions (SLLP water releases) will be guided by climate conditions, weather patterns, and available water supply.”
In both April and May we saw two significant rainfall events causing Lake Conroe to rise above normal pool to 202.7’ msl and 202.4’ msl respectively. The April event did cause some very minor problems with high water levels on Lake Conroe. However as in many dozens of similar rain events over the last forty years the lake can rise by 2’ or more without significant lake level issues or any emergency releases to downstream areas and into Lake Houston.
Hydrilla Status – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) did complete their Spring Hydrilla survey and the results showed that last year’s spraying campaign was effective. The effort underwritten by $75,000 in LCA supporter donations did significantly reduce the Hydrilla infestation to 80% lower than the 2022 peak. TPWD has recommended a summer spraying campaign to address several key parts of the lake. This will be followed by a Fall Grass Carp stocking that will maintain the TPWD target level of mature fish to minimize Hydrilla growth. Hopefully this will eliminate the need in 2023 for another large, expensive spraying campaign. LCA will remain vigilant watching for further spreading of Hydrilla. Should conditions change, we will need to be prepared to quickly step up with funding to stop further infestation growth.
To keep us ready for any new problem we do have an active LCA membership drive underway and invite you to become a voting member with a $100 donation. Brochures and LCA boat / car stickers have been mailed out to existing members in May and June. For more information on this effort, to see our website information improvements, and see the latest Hydrilla survey maps please go the LCA website by using this link https://lcatx.org/ .
Kevin Lacy – LCA President
