With several inches of rain falling in Brown County overnight and already saturated ground, Lake Brownwood is rapidly rising, and officials at the Brown County Water Improvement District are predicting that the lake will soon be near-capacity.
“Lake level is at 1421.88’ (mean sea level) as of 8:30 AM Friday, 3.12 feet below spillway, 89.47% capacity and a gain of 9.35 feet since April 20th when it first started raining,” said Water District General Manager Dennis Spinks. “Right now rise is about .2 tenths of a foot every hour and should continue for several hours today.”
A large storm system passed through Brown County, and most of the state of Texas, overnight dropping 3-4” of rain in many areas of the county.
“I think that by tonight it is possible that the lake will be full or really close to it,” Spinks said.
He also said that the Brown County Water Improvement District board will meet on June 9th to discuss easing current water restrictions.
“There probably will be a change, but we want the public to be aware that although this drought may be over now, who knows what this summer or next summer might bring as far as lake levels which is what a Drought Contingency Plan is based on,” Spinks said. “Just because we have a full lake does not mean we should forget about conservation.”
The last time Lake Brownwood was at capacity was in 2007.
Pictured at top is the boat ramp near the dam at Lake Brownwood Friday morning.