PALO PINTO COUNTY — Rainfall slowed through the day on Friday at Possum Kingdom Lake, removing some of the pressure off Morris Sheppard Dam where two floodgates are open.
The Brazos River Authority said the opening of a third gate is no longer imminent, but it remains a possibility in the next few days.
“Don’t mess with mother nature,” said Percy Wilson, a 70-year-old fisherman who stood at the bottom of the dam, watching the water in awe.
“This is unbelievable, especially in the fall,” he said. “Normally you can walk across the river, but now it would be dangerous in a boat.”
After record rainfall in October, Possum Kingdom Lake is swollen to capacity.
The Brazos River Authority opened one floodgate October 8 and a second on October 14. The gates are releasing 17,000 cubic feet of water flowing to remove pressure upstream.
The normally narrow, shallow channel below the dam turned into a wide, raging river.
“I’m not going out there, no ma’am,” joked Wilson.
He said the fishing was better than it had been in a long time.
“Tuesday, I caught a 22 pounder. Yesterday, a 7 pounder. And, I had one on that I couldn’t even get to the top of the water,” he said.
The Brazos River Authority is constantly monitoring the levels of rivers to the west of the lake to determine if taking the rare step of opening of a third gate will be necessary. They have done it just twice in the last eight years.
If a third gate opens, parts of Parker County - like Horseshoe Bend, Soda Springs, and Lazy Bend - will likely flood within 12 to 24 hours of that opening.
“We’ve treated this like ultimate worst situation,” said Parker County Judge Pat Deen. “We have flooded street and barricades out. We have rescue teams on site.”
“We’re, around the clock, waiting for what happens with the rainfall.”