A special Flood Edition of the Lower Colorado River Authority's newsletter just showed up in my e-mail box, so I wanted to share some of its information as an update to Friday's flood posting.

The LCRA e-publication has these stunning aerial photos of some Central Texas dam floodgates. Click on the photos, and you'll get video.

There's also a list of the more than 80 flood events that have hit the lower Colorado River basin since the 1800s, as well as information on the recreational activity ban at most area lakes through the July 4th holiday.

Major mess: Folks in Marble Falls, however, have much bigger problems than boat bans.

Residents of this lake community northwest of Austin, which regular readers might recall is the home of the famed Blue Bonnet Cafe, suffered devastating damage from 19-plus inches of rain last Wednesday, June 27.

That's more than 19 inches in one day; actually less than one day.

That's why all 10 floodgates at Starcke Dam, above, had to be opened.

One of the distressing consequences of the rainfall overload is that the ensuing flood damaged Marble Falls' public water system so badly that people can't use the liquid from their taps even if they boil it. 

Helping out: If you want to help out the storm-ravaged Texas communities, consider giving to the Red Cross (the Central Texas chapter has a flood-specific Web page) or Salvation Army to support those organizations' relief efforts.

The assistance will be greatly appreciated and you might be able to deduct the charitable contributions on your 2007 tax return.