March 10, 2016 (Toledo Bend Reservoir) - According to the National Weather Service (NWS) more than 16 to 18 inches of rainfall has fallen over Toledo Bend Reservoir within the last three days with more rain expected.
Toledo Bend Reservoir, operated by the Sabine River Authority of Texas and the Sabine River Authority, State of Louisiana reached a record level high of 174.36 feet mean sea level (msl) at 6:00 a.m. this morning due to the rainfall event. The current gauge reading is 174.20 feet msl at 3:00 p.m. today.
Toledo Bend Reservoir is not a flood control reservoir and reaches full pool at 172.0 feet msl. Spillway gate releases, which protect the integrity of the dam, have reached a record of 207,644 cubic feet per second (cfs) which is 90,000 cfs over the previous record set in 1989. Currently 9 gates are open 22 feet and 1 generator is running 24 hours/day. There is no truth to the rumors that the Toledo Bend dam could break due to the record releases. The integrity of the dam is intact and is operating as designed.
Six to eight inches have also fallen over the lower Sabine River. The NWS is forecasting a record flood event for Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana. Their latest forecast shows gauge heights to go over flood stage in Burkeville, Bon Weir and Deweyville. The Ruliff (Deweyville) gauge is forecasted to peak at a new record of 34.4 feet which is 2.2 feet above the record set in 1884 and 5.2 feet above the level set in 1989. According to the NWS forecast at 1:45 p.m. today, the forecast will reach moderate flood stage, 26 feet on Saturday afternoon and will reach major flood stage 28 feet on Sunday morning. Forecast numbers climb to 33.6 feet on Tuesday, March 15th.
The Sabine River Authority of Texas (SRA-TX) and the Sabine River Authority, State of Louisiana (SRA-LA) want everyone to stay informed and be safe during this flooding event. The National Weather Service Forecast website for Ruliff (Deweyville) gauge can be accessed at: http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lch&gage=dwyt2
Although SRA-TX and SRA-LA are coordinating with local Emergency Management Departments throughout the Lower Sabine River Basin, County and Parish officials handle any evacuation orders. Please contact your local county and parish offices for more information.
For further information on the flooding event contact:
Sabine River Authority of Texas
Ann Galassi
(409) 746-2192
agalassi@sratx.org
Sabine River Authority, State of Louisiana
Mike Carr or Brian McDonald
(337) 286-5244
brian.mcdonald@la.gov
Sabine River Authority of Texas, 450 Spur 135, Burkeville, TX 75932
Sabine River Authority, State of Louisiana, 15091 Texas Highway, Many, LA 71449
