The drought was officially declared in June 2009 and all reservoir users were encouraged to limit water usage. On August 23, 2009, Canyon Reservoir level fell to its all time record low of 893.34 msl. According to Tommy Hill, GBRA chief engineer, the last time 909 msl was recorded for Canyon Reservoir was April 2, 2008.

GBRA General manager W.E. "Bill" West said Canyon fulfilled its role of a storage reservoir and released adequate amounts of water providing beneficial uses to cities, industry and individuals. Releases are determined based upon several factors including natural inflows, licensed flows for the project, senior water rights, contract releases from the conservation pool for cities, industries and other downstream users, and bay and estuary flow requirements.

Inflow to Canyon Reservoir at Spring Branch was 753 cubic feet per second (cfs) Friday morning. Hydro crews will begin releasing 400 cfs Friday at the request of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Corps of Engineers is responsible for managing releases of water from the Canyon Reservoir flood pool-elevations (when the reservoir is above 909 msl). When the reservoir is at or below 'conservation pool' elevation of 909 msl, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) manages the stored water portion and releases.

The GBRA was established by the Texas Legislature in 1933 as a water conservation and reclamation district. GBRA provides stewardship for the water resources in its 10-county statutory district, which begins near the headwaters of the Guadalupe and Blanco rivers, ends at San Antonio Bay, and includes Kendall, Comal, Hays, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Gonzales, DeWitt, Victoria, Calhoun, and Refugio counties.

Contact:
LaMarriol Smith, (830) 379-5822, lsmith@gbra.org