Why did LCRA build the dams?
Continuing cycles of flood and drought devastated property and inhibited the growth of Austin and other communities along the river. LCRA wasn’t the first to try to harness the river to control floods and generate low-cost, reliable electricity. But earlier attempts to build dams that would withstand flooding failed, time and again. LCRA was the first with sufficient funding, legal authority, engineering skill, and political and community support to build a system of dams strong enough to last.
