Court of appeals issues decision in lawsuit against Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority
Following the 2019 Lake Dunlap Dam collapse, legal battles between property owners and the agency who maintains the dams poured in. Author: Troy Kless Updated: 6:06 PM CDT July 15, 2021
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas Following the Lake Dunlap Dam collapse, some property owners have gotten involved with legal action against the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority.
According to the GBRA, a decision issued in the Williams v. GBRA case claims the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue the agency.
Property owners along the other lakes, like Steve Pritchard feel the maintenance and upkeep of the dams is critical.
Below the spillgates at Lake McQueeney
The Fourth Court of Appeals has sided with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) in a legal battle with lake property owners.
The court recently found property owners had no legal standing to sue the authority over property improvement losses after spill gates on two of its dams collapsed in recent years.
Lakes Wood and Dunlap were drained by collapsed spill gates, and then the GBRA lowered water levels on its other lakes out of fears similar spill gates on those dams would collapse, too.
Plaintiffs Attorney Doug Sutter plans to appeal the decision. He said the GBRA licensed those improvements, like docks and boat houses.
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The spill gates were swept downstream during the 2019 collapse, but part of the Lake Dunlap dam structure remains in place.
Friday marks the two-year anniversary of the day the spill gate collapsed on Lake Dunlap. The collapse led to lawsuits and elections to create a water control district to replace the dam and others like it.
GBRA experienced a spillgate failure Tuesday morning, May 14. This video shows the precise moment the middle gate collapsed resulting in the dewatering of Lake Dunlap. GBRA will provide periodic updates regarding recreational, safety or water supply issues. pic.twitter.com/xqRTlTNgg9 Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (@GBRATX) May 15, 2019