North Pool Up 11 Feet

Twin Buttes North Pool continues to rise, up over 11 feet in the last week.  Between the two pools Twin Buttes holds over 31,000 acre feet.  That's nearly 2.5 years of water supply without the draconian evaporation deduction used by city staff.  Thank heaven for the rains and runoff!

Twin Buttes Up Ten Feet

Twin Buttes Reservoir's North Pool is ten feet higher from last week's rain.  The added water, over  12,000 acre feet, is nearly a year's worth of San Angelo's water usage of 13,441 acre feet.

Lake E. V. Spence rose over 5,000 acre feet and O. H. Ivie over 2,000 acre feet.  The Water Advisory Board meets this morning and will get to hear about these major blessings.

Update:  SanAngeloLive picked up on the Twin Buttes runoff story this morning.  The Standard Times did likewise but their story is not linkable without a paid subscription.

Update 9-25-18:  The North Pool is now up over 10.5 feet and holds over 29,500 acre feet between the two pools, North and South.  The Water Advisory Board heard about the increase in the North Pool.  City staff provided no data on the South Pool.

North Pool Doubles

 The North Pool is up over 8.5 feet the last two days and still rising.  Last month the North Pool at Twin Buttes Reservoir held 10,200 acre feet.  This morning it hit 20,400 acre feet with the Middle Concho River and Spring Creek still flowing.

At 7:15 this morning the Middle Concho flowed at roughly 1,000 cubic feet per second. Spring Creek helped as well.

Every tributary contributed to the North Pool doubling.  Great news, just in time for the Water Advisory Board meeting tomorrow morning.  Thank heaven for the heavy widespread rains that blessed Twin Buttes with significant runoff! 

North Pool Up Over 5.5 Feet with More to Come

Twin Buttes Reservoir continues to rise from recent rains.  The Middle Concho River flow is the big contributor at the moment with over 4,600 cubic feet of water per second.  At 8:00 pm the North Pool is up over 5.5 feet.  By 9:00 pm this evening it had risen over 6 feet.

The South Concho flowed at greater volumes yesterday but is still contributing to the North Pool's rise via the Equalization Channel.

It appears the South Concho River gauge above Twin Buttes went out after 6:00 pm yesterday.  There has not been a reading posted since that time.

How much water have we been blessed with at Twin Buttes?  Already it is a significant amount.

Update:  At 11:00 pm the North Pool is up over 6.5 feet with more to come.  The Middle Concho River flowed at over 3,000 cubic feet per second at its last reading today.

Major Runoff Headed to Twin Buttes

Today's rain produced significant runoff for three of Twin Buttes tributaries, the South Concho River, Dove Creek and the Middle Concho River.  The South Concho went from 1,400 cubic feet per second this afternoon to ten times that amount after early evening rains.

Dove Creek flowed at 1,800 cubic feet per second this afternoon, a rate close to its flow several weeks ago.

Even the Middle Concho River produced runoff this afternoon at 1,550 cubic feet per second. 

An added bonus is water from a rising Spring Creek.  Between these four tributaries Twin Buttes should rise significantly.

Update:  San Angelo Live reported on this development.  The North Pool is up nearly 3.5 feet as of 2:00 pm.

Heavy Rain in Watershed

Heavy rains are falling in the Twin Buttes Reservoir this morning.  The National Weather Service issued an Area Flood Advisory until 9:00 am and a Flash Flood Watch is in effect until 7:00 am Saturday. 

The North Pool is up nearly two feet from previous rains this month.

The South Pool has roughly 6,000 acre feet and water is flowing through the Equalization Channel into the North Pool. 

This morning's rain is a blessing that will help area lakes.

Public Meeting on Twin Buttes Transportation Management Plan

The Bureau of Reclamation will give the public an opportunity for comment on the Twin Buttes Transportation Management Plan from 5:00 to 7:00 pm on Tuesday, September 25th at the McNease Convention Center.  The Bureau contracts with the City of San Angelo for maintenance of Twin Buttes.  The City partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife to manage the public hunting/recreation program at Twin Buttes.

I recommend any user of Twin Buttes to drop by the meeting or e-mail your comments to the Bureau.  It's important for recreational users voices to be heard.  The Draft Transportation Management plan can be viewed by clicking here.

I e-mailed my desires for continued shore access to launch windsurfers on the North Shore of both the South and North Pools to the Bureau at the e-mail address provided - twinbuttestmp@fs.fed.us.

Update 9-25-18:  SanAngeloLive ran a story on the public meetings for Twin Buttes Transportation Plan.

Runoff Rains Hit Concho Valley

The South Concho River benefited from today's rain and will flow into Twin Buttes Reservoir's South Pool.  The North Pool will increase due to a swollen Dove Creek.

Lake Ivie is up with lots more water to come courtesy of the Colorado and Concho Rivers.

It will take a few days for this runoff to reach Ivie.  Hopefully it will be enough to end the City's drought price increases for water customers.

Thank the Lord for the blessings we have received.

Update 9-13-18:  Concho Valley Homepage ran a piece on runoff and its impact on local lake levels.

Update 9-15-18:  Area lakes should benefit from today's runoff rains.  A flood advisory is in effect until midnight and a flash flood advisory until 7:00 am tomorrow.

City Recommends Barco for Twin Buttes Pumping

On 9-4-18 San Angelo City Council will consider hiring Barco Pump for moving water from Twin Buttes into Lake Nasworthy.  The item is slated for the Consent Agenda, meaning no presentation or discussion.  Should pumps be required at the South Pool the monthly cost is $74,400 with setup costs of $42,500 and take-down fees of roughly $23,900. 

Council will approve this expenditure as our weather shifts to a wetter pattern.  Significant runoff rains have occurred in September/October.  Pray for rain, the lake filling kind.