Mansfield Dam floodgates
The floodgates are closed.
LCRA reports no gate operations at Mansfield Dam, with Lake Travis at 680.09 ft (below its 681.0 ft full pool). LCRA is the authority on dam operations — this page reproduces their reported status and never infers it from the lake level.
LCRA report read August 14, 2026
What LCRA says
InflowsInflows to Lake Travis are below levels that would require gate operations to pass floodwaters at Mansfield Dam.
Gate operationsNo gate operations to pass floodwaters are expected
LCRA forecast notePlease see the River Operations Report for current forecasts for Lake Travis.
Quoted verbatim from LCRA's gate-operations report. For official flood information, consult LCRA Hydromet.
Full pool, flood pool, and why the difference matters
Lake Travis has two levels that matter. Full (conservation) pool is 681.0 ft above sea level — the level the lake is normally kept at for water supply. The top of the flood pool is 710.4 ft, nearly 29 feet higher.
That gap is deliberate, and it is the reason Mansfield Dam exists: Lake Travis is the flood-control reservoir for the lower Colorado River in Texas. Water above 681.0 ft is flood storage doing its job, not an emergency.
So a lake above full pool does not mean the gates are open. Lake Travis can sit above 681.0 ft for weeks while LCRA draws it back down through normal operations — the powerhouse and downstream supply — without ever passing floodwater through the gates. That is exactly what happened here in July 2026.
Lake Travis is below full pool, so none of the flood pool is in use.
Recorded gate operations
No floodgate operations have taken place at Mansfield Dam since this site began recording LCRA's report on July 23, 2026 — 530 hourly readings. That includes late July 2026, when Lake Travis sat several feet above full pool and was drawn down without the gates being used.
This record starts when this site started watching. LCRA publishes only the current status and overwrites it, so there is no earlier history to import — for operations before that date, LCRA is the source.
Lake Travis water level — common questions
Are the Lake Travis floodgates open?
No. LCRA reports no floodgate operations at Mansfield Dam, with Lake Travis at 680.09 ft. LCRA is the authority on dam operations; this page reproduces their reported status.
When do the Lake Travis floodgates open?
LCRA opens the floodgates at Mansfield Dam to pass floodwater when inflows push Lake Travis toward the top of its flood pool. Full (conservation) pool is 681.0 ft above sea level, and the lake is designed to hold floodwater well above that, to 710.4 ft. Being above 681.0 ft does not by itself mean the gates open — the lake can sit above full pool for weeks while LCRA draws it down through normal operations.
How high can Lake Travis get?
Lake Travis's flood pool tops out at 710.4 ft above sea level — about 29.4 ft above its full (conservation) pool of 681.0 ft. That headroom is the reason Mansfield Dam exists: Lake Travis is the flood-control reservoir for the lower Colorado River in Texas.
When were the Lake Travis floodgates last open?
This site has recorded LCRA's gate-operations report hourly since July 23, 2026, and in that time no floodgate operations have taken place at Mansfield Dam. For gate operations before that date, LCRA is the source — they publish only the current status, not a history.
Where the lake is headed next: the 10-day forecast. Gate status also bounds that forecast — with the gates closed, the model never shows floodgate-scale release. Source: LCRA Hydromet gate-operations narrative (archived hourly by this site).