Twin Buttes North Pool Up Foot

Over the last week Twin Buttes North Pool rose a foot.  The South Pool is much higher and South Concho River volume ensures water will continue to flow through the Equalization Channel.  The North Pool has a long way to go before the two pools equalize but it's happened before.  Pray for rain!

Ivie Rising

O.H. Ivie rose 22,000 acre feet since the City of San Angelo declared Drought Level 1 conditions several months ago.  That's a 33% increase.

The increase came from a series of runoff rains which can be seen below.

Our area is currently under a flash flood watch so there may be more runoff for Ivie and area lakes.

Update 6-1-16: Stephen Brown noted same in Standard Times today.  Ivie holds nearly 95,000 acre feet with more runoff to come.

Update 6-2-16: Ivie is closing in on 100,000 acre feet.  It's currently at 98,190. 

Later on 6-2-16: It;s at 101,000 acre feet and the evening's young!

Tonic for Twin Buttes?

The ground is saturated from several days of rain.  Our area is under a flash flood watch until Thursday afternoon.  Might this be a boon for area lakes?  That's my prayer.

Update 5-21-16:  Twin Buttes is up a half foot to 1899.75 ft elevation.

Update 5-22-16:  Below is a picture of the runoff from the South Concho River which feeds Twin Buttes South Pool:

South Pool Feeding North

The South Pool sits at elevation 1928.3 feet, the highest it's been since the May 2014 flooding event.  Two years ago water gushed through the area pictured below.

I shot these pictures this morning.  The last time I visited the South Pool this area was dry.  Below is the pad area where the city placed pumps to move water when the Equalization Channel was not flowing.

According to a fisherman a rattlesnake was on the pad.  I didn't see or hear it.  Wearing shorts I did not want to take any chances.  Our area has several more rain chances the next two weeks.  Pray for rain.  Our lakes need it, especially the North Pool which sits nearly thirty feet lower in elevation than a brimming South Pool.

Rain Falls in South Pool Watershed

The NWS issued a flood advisory for storms that dumped rain for hours south of Twin Buttes Reservoir.  South Concho River flow has more than doubled to 55 cubic feet per second as of 9:45 pm.  Even though it's coming into Twin Buttes South Pool water will flow to the North Pool via the Equalization Channel.  We'll see how much it adds to Twin Buttes, but it could be a nice boost to our local water supplies. 

Lake Ivie Up 8,500 Acre Feet: Reduces Pressure on Twin Buttes

Since San Angelo's City Council declared Drought Level I restrictions most area lakes received beneficial runoff rains.  Lake Nasworthy went from 8,010 acre feet to 8,529, an increase of over 500 acre feet.

Lake Ivie went from 66,866 acre feet to 75,410.  That's 8,500 acre feet higher from beneficial rains. Add Twin Buttes North Pool rise of 1,570 acre feet (from 15,410 to 16,987 acre feet) and the City has over seven additional months of water.   In addition Twin Buttes South Pool holds roughly 6,000 acre feet

Staff went to City Council with a very conservative "26 months of water" left.  That's now 33 months.  This is a blessing for our community.  We'll see when Council reconsiders their Drought Level 1 designation.

Update 4-24-16:  As of this morning Ivie holds 75,700 acre feet of water.

Update 4-26-16:  Ivie is now up nearly 10,000 acre feet with storms in the area. 

Twin Buttes Up Nearly 3 Feet

Twin Buttes Reservoir's North Pool is up nearly three feet from December levels. This is due to steady flow from the South Concho River and two creeks, Dove Creek and Spring Creek. Twin Buttes is the only lake in the city's water supply arsenal to rise over this period. Weather predictions call for a wet weekend with potential runoff.

The National Weather Service issued a Special Weather Statement:

HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE THIS WEEKEND ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS...

A POTENT UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL APPROACH WEST CENTRAL TEXAS THIS WEEKEND... BRINGING WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.  WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW... 

1. THE MOST WIDESPREAD AND HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS MOST LIKELY SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. 

2. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE LIKELY... WITH TOTALS OVER 4 INCHES POSSIBLE IN SOME LOCATIONS. 

3. WITH SOILS STILL WET FROM THE RAIN ON TUESDAY... RAINFALL THIS WEEKEND SHOULD QUICKLY SATURATE THE SOIL. FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS... LOW WATER CROSSINGS... AND OTHER POOR DRAINAGE AREAS WILL BE POSSIBLE DURING THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL. 

IN ADDITION... ALTHOUGH THE HEAVY RAINFALL IS THE GREATEST THREAT... A FEW STORMS REACHING SEVERE LEVELS CAN NOT BE RULED OUT. THE STORM SYSTEM WILL BE SLOW TO MOVE... SO SOME CHANCE OF RAIN WILL LINGER WELL INTO NEXT WEEK. RESIDENTS OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR A VERY WET WEEKEND. 

A blessing may be on its way.