Lakes and Reservoirs

Texas has 5,607 square miles of inland water, ranking it first in the 48 contiguous states. Updated 2 years ago
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As late as 1913, Texas had only four major reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 288,340 acre-feet. By January 2012, Texas had 188 major reservoirs (those with a normal capacity of 5,000 acre-feet or larger), not counting four that are normally dry and six reservoirs made up of proximate impoundments.

According to the U.S. Statistical Abstract of 2010, Texas has 5,607 square miles of inland water, ranking it first in the 48 contiguous states, followed by Florida, with 5,373 sq. mi.; Minnesota, 4,782; and Louisiana, 4,433.

There are about 6,976 reservoirs in Texas with a normal storage capacity of 10 acre-feet or larger.

Reserviors having more than 5,000 acre-feet capacity are listed below. Date refers to the year that impoundment of water began. Multiple years refer to later, larger dams. Reservoirs normally dry are in italics. 

Storage capacity and surface-area calculations are for conservation elevation. Because sediment deposition constantly reduces reservoir volumes over time, these are figures from the most recent surveys available. An acre-foot is the amount of water necessary to cover an acre with water one foot deep.

 

Reservoir (other names) Date Surface area (acres) Capacity (acre-feet)
Abilene, Lake 1919 595 7,900
Addicks Reservoir 1948 16,780 202,128
Alan Henry, Lake 1993 2,741 94,808
Alcoa Lake 1952 914 15,650
Amistad Reservior, International  (Diablo) 1969 66,465 3,159,270
Amon G. Carter, Lake 1961 1,489 19,266
Anahuac, Lake  (Turtle Bayou) 1936, 1954 5,035 33,348
Anzalduas Channel Dam 1960 1,472 13,910
Aquilla Lake 1983 3,066 44,566
Arlington, Lake 1957 1,926 40,188
Arrowhead, Lake 1966 14,969 235,997
Athens, Lake  (Flat Creek) 1962 1,799 29,475
Austin, Lake 1893, 1915, 1939 1,589 23,972
 (In 1900, the first dam broke. In 1915, a second dam was partially built but not completed. In 1939, the present Tom Miller Dam was built.)
Ballinger/Moonen, Lake 1947 500 6,850
Balmorhea Lake 1917 573 6,350
Bardwell Lake 1965 3,138 46,122
Barker Reservoir 1945 17,225 206,860
Bastrop, Lake 1964 906 16,590
Baylor Creek Lake 1950 610 9,220
Belton Lake 1954 12,135 435,225
Benbrook Lake 1952 3,635 85,648
Bivins Lake  (Amarillo City) 1927 397 5,122
Bob Sandlin, Lake 1977 8,703 190,822
Bonham, Lake 1969 1,070 11,027
Brady Creek Reservoir 1963 2,020 28,808
Brandy Branch Reservoir 1983 1,242 29,513
Braunig Lake, Victor 1962 1,350 26,500
Brazoria Reservoir 1954 1,865 21,970
Bridgeport, Lake 1932 11,954 366,236
Brownwood, Lake 1933 6,443 128,839
Bryan Lake 1977 829 15,227
Buchanan, Lake 1937 22,137 816,904
Buffalo Lake 1938 1,900 18,150
Caddo Lake 1873, 1914, 1971 26,800 129,000
 (In November 1873, the U.S. Army used nitroglycerin charges to remove the last portion of the Red River raft, a natural logjam. This resulted in the gradual depletion of Caddo water. In 1914, a dam was completed near Mooringsport, La. In 1971, a larger replacement dam was completed.)
Calaveras Lake 1969 3,624 63,200
Camp Creek Lake 1949 750 7,000
Canyon Lake 1964 8,308 378,852
Casa Blanca, Lake 1951 1,680 20,000
Cedar Creek Reservoir  (Joe B. Hogsett) 1965 32,873 644,785
Champion Creek Reservoir 1959 1,561 41,580
Cherokee, Lake 1948 3,467 39,023
Choke Canyon Reservoir 1982 25,989 695,262
Cisco, Lake 1923 10,430 25,895
Cleburne, Lake Pat 1964 1,558 26,008
Clyde, Lake 1970 449 5,748
Coffee Mill Lake 1939 650 8,000
Coleman, Lake 1966 1,811 38,076
Coleto Creek Reservoir 1980 3,100 31,040
Colorado City, Lake 1949 1,612 31,485
Conroe, Lake 1973 20,118 416,177
Cooper, Lake/Olney  (see Lake Olney) 1953 446 6,650
Cooper Lake  (Jim Chapman) 1991 17,958 298,930
Corpus Christi, Lake 1930 18,256 256,961
Cox Creek Reservoir (Raw Water, Recycle) n/a 541 5,034
Crook, Lake 1923 1,060 9,195
Cypress Springs, Lake 1970 3,252 66,756
Daniel, Lake 1948 924 9,515
Davis, Lake n/a 585 5,454
Delta Lake, Units 1, 2  (Monte Alto) 1939 2,371 14,000
Diverson, Lake 1924 3,133 33,420
Dunlap, Lake 1928 410 5,900
Eagle Lake 1900 1,200 9,600
Eagle Mountain Lake 1934 8,694 179,880
Eagle Nest Lake  (Manor) 1951 18,000
Electra, Lake 1950 731 5,626
Ellison Creek Reservoir 1943 1,516 24,700
Fairfield Lake  (Big Brown Creek) 1970 2,159 44,169
Falcon Reservoir, International 1954 85,195 2,645,646
Fayette County Reservoir  (Cedar Creek) 1958 2,400 71,400
Forest Grove Reservoir 1982 1,502 20,038
Fort Phantom Hill, Lake 1938 4,213 70,030
Georgetown, Lake 1980 1,287 36,823
Gibbons Creek Reservoir 1981 2,770 27,603
Gilmer Reservoir 2001 1,010 12,720
Gonzales, Lake  (H-4) 1931 696 6,500
Graham, Lake 1929 2,444 45,288
Granbury, Lake 1969 7,945 128,046
Granger Lake  (Laneport) 1980 4,203 50,779
Grapevine Lake 1952 6,893 164,703
Greenbelt Lake 1967 2,025 59,968
Halbert, Lake 1921 603 6,033
Harris Reservoir, William 1947 1,663 9,200
Hawkins, Lake 1962 776 11,890
Holbrook Lake 1962 653 7,790
Hords Creek Lake 1948 516 8,443
Houston, Lake 1954 11,854 102,876
Houston County Lake 1966 1,330 17,113
Hubbard Creek Reservoir 1962 14,992 322,280
Imperial Reservoir 1912 1,530 6,000
Inks Lake 1938 793 13,962
Jacksonville, Lake 1959 1,165 25,670
J.B. Thomas, Lake 1952 7,282 199,931
J.D. Murphree WMA Impoundments n/a 6,881 32,000
Joe Pool Lake  (Lakeview) 1986 7,470 175,358
Johnson Creek Reservoir 1961 650 10,100
Kemp, Lake 1923 15,357 268,811
Kickapoo, Lake 1945 6,028 85,825
Kiowa, Lake 1967 560 7,000
Kirby, Lake 1928 740 7,620
Kurth, Lake 1950 726 14,769
Lady Bird Lake  (Town) 1960 468 6,409
Lake Creek Lake 1952 550 8,400
Lake Fork Reservoir 1980 27,264 636,133
Lake O' the Pines 1959 16,919 241,363
Lavon, Lake 1953 20,559 406,388
Leon, Lake 1954 1,590 26,476
Lewis Creek Reservoir n/a 1,010 16,400
Lewisville Lake  (Dallas, Garza–Little Elm) 1929, 1954 27,175 563,228
Limestone, Lake 1978 12,553 208,017
Livingston, Lake 1969 32,583 1,785,348
Loma Alta Lake n/a 2,490 26,500
Lost Creek Reservoir 1990 413 11,950
Lyndon B. Johnson, Lake  (Granite Shoals, LBJ) 1951 6,024 111,633
Mackenzie Reservoir 1974 896 46,450
Marble Falls, Lake 1951 608 7,486
Martin Creek Lake 1974 4,981 75,116
Medina Lake 1913 5,426 254,884
Meredith, Lake 1965 16,411 779,560
Millers Creek Reservoir 1990 2,212 26,768
Mineral Wells, Lake 1920 646 6,760
Mitchell County Reservoir 1993 1,463 27,266
Monticello Reservoir 1972 2,001 34,740
Moss Lake, Hubert H. 1960 1,140 24,155
Mountain Creek Lake 1937 2,696 22,850
Murvaul, Lake 1958 3,507 38,285
Mustang Lake East/West n/a 6,451
Nacogdoches, Lake 1976 2,212 39,512
Naconiche, Lake 2009 692 15,031
Nasworthy, Lake 1930 1,380 9,615
Natural Dam Lake 1957, 1989 3,710 54,560
 (Originally a natural lake, whose surface and capacity were increased by construction of dams. For flood control.)
Navarro Mills Lake 1963 4,736 49,827
Nocona, Lake  (Farmers Creek) 1960 1,362 21,445
North Fork Buffalo Creek Reservoir 1964 1,500 15,400
North Lake 1957 800 9,400
Oak Creek Reservoir 1952 2,375 39,210
O.C. Fisher Lake  (San Angelo) 1952 5,348 119,445
O.H. Ivie Reservoir  (Stacy) 1990 19,149 554,340
Olmos Reservoir 1926 1,050 15,500
Olney, Lake/Cooper  (see Lake Cooper) 1935 446 6,650
Palestine, Lake 1962 22,656 373,199
Palo Duro Reservoir 1991 2,413 61,066
Palo Pinto, Lake 1964 2,176 27,398
Pat Mayse Lake 1967 5,638 113,683
Pinkston Reservoir  (Sandy Creek) 1976 523 7,380
Possum Kingdom Lake 1941 16,716 540,340
Proctor Lake 1963 4,537 55,457
Quitman, Lake 1962 814 7,440
Randell Lake 1909 311 5,900
Ray Hubbard, Lake  (Forney) 1968 20,963 452,040
Ray Roberts Lake  (Aubrey) 1987 28,646 788,167
Red Bluff Reservoir 1937 7,495 152,335
Red Draw Reservoir 1985 374 8,538
Richland-Chambers Reservoir 1987 43,384 1,087,839
Rita Blanca, Lake 1940 524 12,050
River Crest Lake 1953 555 7,000
Sam Rayburn Reservoir  (McGee Bend) 1965 112,590 2,857,077
San Bernard Reservoirs 1, 2, 3 n/a 8,610
Santa Rosa Lake 1929 1,500 11,570
Smithers Lake 1957 2,480 18,700
Somerville Lake 1967 10,843 147,104
South Texas Project Reservoir 1983 7,000 202,600
Spence Reservoir, E.V. 1969 14,640 517,272
Squaw Creek Reservoir 1983 3,169 151,250
Stamford, Lake 1953 5,158 51,570
Steinhagen Lake, B.A. (Town Bluff, Dam B) 1951 10,687 66,961
Stillhouse Hollow Lake  (Lampasas) 1968 6,484 227,771
Striker, Lake  (Striker Creek) 1957 1,920 22,934
Sulphur Springs, Lake  (White Oak Creek) 1950 1,340 17,747
Sulphur Springs Draw Reservoir 1992 970 7,997
Sweetwater, Lake 1930 647 12,267
Tawakoni, Lake 1960 37,325 871,685
Terrell City Lake 1955 849 8,594
Texana, Lake  (Palmetto Bend) 1980 9,676 159,640
Texoma, Lake 1943 78,420 2,516,232
Toledo Bend Reservoir 1967 182,490 4,491,504
Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir 1968 2,010 35,110
Travis, Lake 1942 19,048 1,113,256
Trinidad Lake 1923 690 6,200
Truscott Brine Lake 1987 3,146 111,147
Twin Buttes Reservoir 1963 8,445 182,454
Twin Oaks Reservoir 1982 2,330 30,319
Tyler, Lake / Lake Tyler East 1949/1967 4,737 73,161
Upper Nueces Reservoir 1926, 1948 316 5,200
Valley Lake  (Brushy Creek) 1961 1,080 16,400
Waco, Lake 1929 8,190 187,808
Walter E. Long, Lake  (Decker) 1967 1,269 33,940
Waxahachie, Lake 1956 656 10,779
Weatherford, Lake 1956 1,112 17,812
Welsh Reservoir  (Swauano Creek) 1976 1,269 18,431
White River Lake 1963 1,642 29,880
White Rock Lake 1911 1,088 9,004
Whitney, Lake 1951 23,220 553,344
Wichita, Lake 1901 2,200 14,000
Winnsboro, Lake 1962 806 8,100
Winters, Lake (New-, Elm Creek) 1983 643 8,374
Worth, Lake 1914 3,458 33,495
Wright Patman Lake  (Texarkana) 1957 18,247 310,382


Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Texas Water Development Board, the Handbook of Texas, Texas Parks & Wildlife, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, previous Texas Almanacs, various river basin authorities, website of the owners of reservoirs.

 

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