Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Ars Technica Addendum (effective 8/21/2018). This tragic event of nature "unearthed" a true Hill Country treasure which you can now experience firsthand with a trained guide. "The dam is performing as designed and is structurally sound," the statement said. The key opportunity here is that we have before-and-after photos and surveying data, pictures of the event, and even fairly accurate measures of the amount of water that raced down the channel. Listing image by Study author Michael Lamb. John Timmer Take a guided educational tour and explore the gorge that was eroded 40 feet below the pre-flood terrain by the 2002 flood event, when flood waters went over the Canyon Lake Spillway for the first time in its history. They come up with a window between a half day and three weeks—the major portion of the flood occurred over about three days. Flows seem to have peaked at nearly 1,500 cubic meters of water every second. History - The 2002 Flood. Rodriguez said that the flood waters have contaminated drinking water in the city of Castroville, so 3,000 residents have been told to either boil their water or drink bottled water. The spillway is emptying into the Guadalupe River at about 55,000 cubic feet per second, a rate that was expected to increase to 85,000 cubic feet per second by the end of the day, said Judy Marsicano, a Corps spokeswoman. This tragic event unearthed a true Hill Country treasure which you can experience firsthand with a trained guide. Officials in Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, urged residents near the Medina River, in the southwest part of the county, to go to higher ground as a precaution. One house was swept away, riding the flood water like a small ship leaving port, while dozens of others have been deluged. Over the course of just a few days, the flood barreled through limestone-rich bedrock, carving out 1.2km of canyon with an average depth of over seven meters, and as deep as 12m in some spots. Photos of Canyon Lake Spillway in Comal County Water from the spillway comes roaring toward Horseshoe Falls Estates and the Lower Guadalupe River Ad Choices, with 37 posters participating, including story author. Take a guided educational tour and explore the gorge that was eroded 40 feet below the pre-flood terrain by the 2002 flood event, when flood waters went over the Canyon Lake Spillway for the first time in its history. The upper part of the Guadalupe River Watershed officially received 34 inches of rain in just one week’s time, according to the Canyon Lake Gorge website. Several bridges are underwater and one town's drinking water has been contaminated by the floods that have killed nine people. Flood of 2002 Total Rainfall for the Flood of 2002 This graph shows the actual lake level, and the rapid rise during the flood of 2002, with the green line representing the spillway height. Read our affiliate link policy. A torrent of water from a bloated Canyon Lake sliced open the earth, exposing rock formations, fossils and even dinosaur footprints in just three days. Canyon Lake Reservoir and Dam Canyon Lake is located on the Guadalupe River, 16 miles northwest of the city of New Braunfels in Comal County, Texas (Fig. Heavy rains have pushed water levels at the Canyon Lake Dam to record levels, sending water coursing over an overflow spillway for the first time in the dam's 45-year history. This brought Canyon Dam into its most important role since it was built. All rights reserved. ... making the changes attributable to the 2002 flood plainly visible. They then turn to various models that have been used to evaluate potential megafloods that occurred in the distant past. The resulting spillway flood excavated soil and trees and significantly eroded bedrock, creating the Canyon Lake Gorge. In July 2002 up to 67,000 cubic feet (1,900 m ) of water per second flowed over the spillway of Canyon Lake, Texas for approximately six weeks, the first time the spillway had been in use since the reservoir dam was constructed in 1964. Guadalupe Valley Flood of 2002 provides information and photos of the flood that hit the Guadalupe River and Canyon Lake in Texas on June 30, 2002. 1). But she said that the high lake level brings back memories of the flood of 2002 when the lake rose so high it sent water roaring over the spillway adjacent to Canyon Dam. © 2020 Condé Nast. For the most part, various models are all in the right neighborhood when it comes to water volumes, although they tend to bracket the average flow, and underestimate the sharp peak that occurred in this particular case. Authorities have said nine people have died in the flooding. "I've been here my entire life," said Danny Scheel, emergency operations officer for Comal County, northeast of San Antonio. It … The water poured into the Guadalupe River, turning it into a powerful force that swept away a house in New Braunfels, a town of 36,000 residents about 16 miles downstream. The flood created stair-step … Could Have Been Worse: The majority of the water fell in the upper river basins of rivers like the Guadalupe and Medina (as opposed to the lower basin deluge of '98). The major flood event of record was in 2002 when the lake overflowed the spillway for the first time in the history of Canyon Lake. 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