Lower Colorado River Authority

The Lower Colorado River Authority or LCRA is a nonprofit public utility that was formed in 1934 by the Texas Legislature. LCRA's mission is to protect people, property and the environment by providing public services for more than one million people in Central and Southeast Texas. These services include electric and water supplies, flood management, water and wastewater utilities, public parks along the Highland Lakes and lower Colorado River, and community and economic development services to rural and suburban communities.

Hydroelectric dams

The Lower Colorado River Authority operates six hydroelectric dams along the Colorado River in the Central Texas area:

* Buchanan Dam - forms Lake Buchanan
* Inks Dam - forms Inks Lake
* Wirtz Dam - forms Lake LBJ, which also serves as a cooling pond for LCRA's Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant
* Max Starcke Dam - forms Lake Marble Falls
* Mansfield Dam - forms Lake Travis
* Tom Miller Dam - forms Lake Austin

Other LCRA power plants and cooling reservoirs in the Colorado River basin include:

* Lake Fayette - cools the Fayette Power Project (co-owned by Austin Energy and LCRA)
* Lake Bastrop - cools the Sim Gideon Power Plant and the Lost Pines Power Project 1 (owned and operated by GenTex Power Corporation, a wholly owned affiliate of LCRA)

LCRA manages water quality, water safety and recreation on the Highland Lakes (except Lake Austin, which is managed by the City of Austin). LCRA also monitors and protects water quality throughout the river basin.

Electric distribution

LCRA distributes electricity to wholesale electric customers - mostly municipal utilities and electric cooperatives - via a network of over 3,700 miles of transmission lines. LCRA also purchases electricity generated by wind power projects in West Texas.

Parks and community services

The LCRA operates over 30 public parks, recreation areas and river access sites along the Highland Lakes and lower Colorado River. Several LCRA parks have natural science centers that offer outdoor educational and recreational programs for youths and adults. [ [http://www.lcra.org/parks/results.html "Your Nearby Getaways" "LCRA".] ]

The LCRA's community services programs provide matching grants for community development projects and local park projects, assist communities in planning for economic development, help attract tourism and businesses, and train community leaders.

References

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External links

* [http://www.lcra.org/ LCRA] main web site
* [http://www.lcra.org/parks/index.html LCRA parks] web site