Story from Bois d’Arc Lake
Bois d’Arc Lake, the first major reservoir in Texas in nearly 30 years, is now filling. The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) began impounding, or capturing, water on the 16,641-acre lake today.
“We are excited to reach this major milestone that brings us one step closer to additional water supplies for the growing population NTMWD serves,” said Rodney Rhoades, NTMWD Interim Executive Director. “Bois d’Arc Lake will be a reliable water source for generations and will also provide economic and recreational benefits to Fannin County.”
Impoundment began when workers closed the lower gates at the raw water intake structure, cutting off the flow of water through the structure and allowing the reservoir to hold water. The 110-foot-tall structure sits inside of the lake footprint and pulls water from the reservoir for treatment. The remaining gates at the intake structure will stay open until the lake fills to a higher level. NTMWD will release water from the lake as required by our permit in order to keep water flowing downstream in Bois d’Arc Creek.
The amount of rainfall in the Bois d’Arc Lake watershed will determine how long it will take the lake to fill and be ready for recreation. The entire lake does not need to be filled prior to NTMWD providing water. Based on historical weather patterns, NTMWD expects the reservoir to contain enough water to begin providing treated water to its Member Cities and Customers in 2022.
Construction continues while the lake fills. There is approximately 10-feet of fill remaining before the dam embankment reaches its full 90-foot height. Work also continues on other components of the project, including the raw water pump station, lake operations center, water treatment plant in Leonard, and pipelines between the lake, Leonard and the regional water system distribution point in McKinney. NTMWD expects nearly all construction at the Bois d’Arc Lake dam area to be complete by the end of 2021. Last year, workers completed and opened 11 miles of county and state roads, including 6.2 miles of FM 897 and its accompanying bridge.
Bois d’Arc Lake is located northeast of Bonham in Fannin County. Find more information on the lake at BoisdArcLake.org.
