Lawsuits seeks to deter plans
Story by Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News
At Son’s Island, the popular retreat for camping, kayaking and fishing at Lake Placid just west of Seguin, the future of the resort is in doubt.
Since the loss of Lake Dunlap in May due to a spillway failure on the dam, the remaining hydroelectric lakes along the Guadalupe River, a concern to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, may be drained.
The GBRA announced in August that it would begin a systematic drawdown of its remaining lakes on Sept. 16 after engineering assessments found it was the only way to minimize risks associated with its aging hydroelectric dam system.
“It’s very defeating,” said Harrison Wood of Best Texas Travel, the managing entity of Son’s Island. “Each year Son’s Island brings 15,000 to 18,000 people to Seguin. Everyone here was just shocked when we heard the news.”
If drained, the water will be far from the cabanas, camping areas and kayak-launching areas.
“The river channel is on the other side of the river,” Wood said. “You would probably have to walk 50 to 80 yards to get to water.”
GBRA officials say they are mindful of the problems.
“We understand this is an unpopular decision, but one that we feel is unavoidable given the dangers associated with these dams,” said GBRA General Manager and CEO Kevin Patteson.
GBRA said it coordinated with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to come up with a “dewatering plan” designed to minimize impacts to the environment.
The dewatering plan is scheduled to begin with Lake Gonzales and continue upstream to Meadow Lake, Lake Placid and Lake McQueeney. Under the plan, the lakes would be drained by the end of September.
Two lawsuits seek to alter those plans. The GBRA was sued by two different groups of property owners, both seeking a temporary restraining order and/or injunction to block the plans.
The agency said the dams that form the recreational lakes along the river have outlived their useful life at more than 90 years old.
Opponents, including the group Friends of Lake McQueeney, believe the creation of a Water Control and Improvement District, a special district with the power to levy an ad valorem tax and issue bonds, would be a better alternative to maintain the dams.
Anglers who don’t reside at the lake, though, don’t want to see taxpayer dollars used at McQueeney, an essentially private lake with no access for nonresidents.
The dams at the lakes were completed in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
