Bell County’s lakeside parks also were flooded longer, delaying damage estimates until after congressional action was under way, he said.
The 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations bill contained funds to improve Lake Waco parks well before passing the House Appropriations Committee on July 13, 2007, said Carter, who is a committee member.
The final $555 billion omnibus bill signed by President Bush in December included $1.4 million to remove debris and repair damage to Lake Waco, according to a press release from U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, who represents Waco.
Flooding pushed Lake Waco to its highest level for the year on July 9, 2007, when water reached 486 feet, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data.
“They had already put into the appropriations process before the rain,” Carter said. “The rain event happened at the time the committee was marking up the bill.
“They were fortunate that they already had a request and they already had some substantial money in there for improvements (to Lake Waco), but they were able to switch those over for repair,” Carter said.
Josh Taylor, Edwards’ press secretary, declined official comment.
“I wish like heck I had had a plus up in the 2008 bill,” Carter said. Plus ups are earmarks in the federal budget. “If I had, I could have done the same thing as Mr. Edwards.
“No one had made a request for an upgrade on the lakes in our area. It just happened that (Lake Waco’s) were there,” he said.
While Lake Waco returned to normal elevation of 462 feet on Aug. 5, Belton Lake and Stillhouse didn’t return to normal levels until Oct. 14 and Sept. 20, respectively. Both lakes peaked on July 17, with Belton at 630 feet and Stillhouse at 664 feet.
“We were at flood stage longer into the season than Waco was, so it took longer to get back in to see what kind of damage we had,” said Dan Thomasson, lake manager for Stillhouse and Belton reservoirs.
Some areas were not dry until November, he said.
Both water-retaining lakes, Belton and Stillhouse take longer to return to normal because they share a 10,000 cubic feet per second channel with Georgetown and Granger lakes. Waco Lake single-handedly releases water into a 40,000 cubic feet per second channel, Thomasson said.
“If we had known a number in the fall, we would have certainly worked with Kay Bailey Hutchison on the Senate side…to bring something to the bill,” Carter said. “We didn’t have the numbers.”
Greg Pope, regional operations project manager for the Corps of Engineers, said his office has maintained close communication with Carter’s staff to ensure they had the latest information available.
“We were giving ‘guesstimates’ because we couldn’t see anything (until water receded),” Pope said. “We’ve been giving status reports including cost estimates throughout the whole thing.”
Carter said he expects an estimate with firm numbers this week.
“They’re still working on numbers as we speak,” he said. “We’ve talked to them this week and told them to prioritize numbers.”
Carter said his staff has been combing the Corps system looking for unused funds in other lakes’ maintenance and operations budgets which could be transferred to the area.
Because Bell County’s lakes came down after many others, and because flooding was so widespread, funds appear to be depleted, he said.
Doug Perrin, Corps chief of technical support, said 22 of 25 Fort Worth district lakes suffered damage to lake facilities during 2007 flooding.
“We’re looking for (funds) anywhere in the United States to get money flowing so we don’t have to wait for the congressional supplemental bill this spring,” Carter said.
If money is not found, Carter said he and his staff “will be working ourselves ragged to get it in the next bill.”
That will take getting other congressmen to agree that Belton and Stillhouse have an emergency situation, he said.
“We’ve got a lot of Texans on the appropriations committee,” Carter said. “We are united on this effort. When it comes down to taking care of Texans, the Democrats and Republicans unite. I’ll have the support of all of my colleagues. I’m confident.”
