Water Pours Into Area Lakes, With O.H. Ivie the Biggest Winner

SAN ANGELO, TX — Water continued flowing into area lakes overnight Tuesday after rains doused the Concho Valley the last few days.

The numbers that were waiting Wednesday morning showed just how much rain we received.

O.H. Ivie jumped a staggering 4 feet and gained more than 32,000 acre feet since Tuesday afternoon.

Since the rain began, the lake has seen a total rise of 5.7 feet and an increase of 44,700 acre feet.

One acre foot of water is equivalent to 326,000 gallons. 

“As far as the city of San Angelo and its water supply customers, O.H. Ivie was a frickin’ home run,” said Chuck Brown, the former director of operations for the Upper Colorado River Authority who is now the CEO and president of Hydro Corporation.

“The Concho River peaked at Paint Rock last night at 22,300 cubic feet per second. In San Angelo, its peak flow was only 2,000 the day before, so that is a whole lot of additional water coming from all the tributaries between San Angelo and Paint Rock. Every little creek was rocking and rolling.”

Brown said there’s more water headed Ivie’s way, and the total could realistically hit 50,000 acre feet.

O.C. Fisher rose another 4 feet overnight Tuesday, giving it a total increase of 15 feet. The lake was sitting at about 1,000 acre feet before the rain. It now has about 7,500 acre feet.

“Basically, you had a reservoir that wasn’t dry, but it was headed that way,” Brown said. “It had less than 1,000 acre feet, and the water body when it’s full holds 120,000. So you’ve got a very limited area for which things can thrive, whether it’s fish, waterfowl or whatever.

“The rains have increased the area of this to where it is once again a stable aquatic environment.”