quote:This is exactly what is happening again with this flood. The folks at the dam are limiting releases and letting the lake rise some. It's the water pouring in out of Lake Creek that is wrecking hell on the West Fork right now. Even still, there is a limit to how much they can let Lake Conroe rise. The lake was never designed for flood control. It was designed as a water supply reservoir and does not have significant flood storage above conservation pool. Letting the lake rise even a few feet will cause flooding of structures along the lake. The dam operators have very strict protocols in place and they do not deviate from them. IF the book says release X when the lake reaches Y then they do. There are undoubtedly caveats for downstream flows, but there comes a point they MUST let the water go, for the safety of the dam. Conservation poo is 201 feet. The top of the dam is 212 ft, and when the gates are closed their top is ONLY 202.5 ft!
Just read this Conroe dam story yesterday. It's a few years old, but talks about the issues with creeks below the dam - Spring, Lake, etc.
http://m.yourhoustonnews.com/archives/flood-of-history-could-repeat-itself/article_e26745ff-92a0-5bbd-97c0-749b27290af8.html?mode=jqm