LCRA celebrates its 80th anniversary

The Lower Colorado River Authority is officially an octogenarian. The nonprofit public utility’s board of directors and staff celebrated the occasion at Thursday’s board meeting, followed by a special ceremony at the Agricultural Museum in the Capitol. General Manager Phil Wilson said that he is proud to be part of “an organization with such a long, rich history of serving our state” before launching into a brief history lesson. “On Nov. 13, 1934, Texas Gov. Miriam ‘Ma’ Ferguson signed legislation creating the LCRA. Eighty years ago today, on Feb. 19, 1935, we opened our doors for business,” he said. “Eighty years ago, the LCRA was created to improve the quality of life for Central Texans and people throughout the Colorado River basin. Today, LCRA continues to enhance the lives of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service.” The LCRA has authority over the lower Colorado River and the Highland Lakes, which include reservoir lakes Travis and Buchanan. It also generates power, owns transmission lines, operates parks and recreation areas and provides flood management services.