Because Terri and I list and sell many water front properties around Fort Worth's Eagle Mountain Lake we are often asked questions about the Richland-Chambers pipeline and the lake's water level, which unfortunately is down several feet at this time.  Mostly I refer people to the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) web site so that I don't misinform them on this subject.  Even after writing this blog I will still defer to their site or recommend just calling them if you have questions or concerns.  However, their web site may not be up to date on this particular subject since I could not find exactly what I was looking for there.  So I just picked up the phone to pursue more of the information I was after.  This morning I talked with Lori Mayfield (who was very helpful and informative) with the TRWD, to get some information on the Richland-Chambers pipeline and TRWD's goals for supplying desperately needed water to our beloved Eagle Mountain Lake.  Will the TRWD fill up Eagle Mountain Lake by June 1, 2009? Lori said that the TRWD is not trying to fill up the lake but they are more or less trying to keep up with Fort Worth demands (which apparently is above the norm) on the water supply.  Two pipeline repairs and the current drought situation have put the TRWD a few weeks behind schedule in supplying water as they begin the pipeline's first year in operation.  Currently the demand on the water supply and the deposit of water into the lake from the pipeline are about the same which makes for difficulty in bringing the lake up to a higher or more preferred level.  The TRWD receive a weather briefing at one of their recent staff meetings which indicated that Eagle Mountain Lake needs approximately 15 inches of rain over the next four months to bring the water to conservation level.  One consideration that TRWD has is that they must be careful not to pump too much water into the lake lest the potential for torrential rainfall could send excess water over the spillway.  Their goal is to conserve water and prevent flooding and water going over the spillway would not be a good thing.  Therefore, they must be careful and manage the water that goes into and out of the lake. 

So all of us the live near or around Eagle Mountain Lake will have to wait and see what the weather will do before we can know whether there will be a positive or negative effect on the lake's water level.

Regards!

Bernie Christian