Lewisville Lake

Lewisville Lake
Location	North Texas
Coordinates	33°6′3″N 96°57′50″W
Type	reservoir
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	29,592 acres (120 km²)
Max. depth	67 ft (20 m)

A park area on the shore of Lewisville Lake

Lewisville Lake is a man-made freshwater lake located in North Texas (USA) on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River in Denton County near Lewisville. The lake is primarily used recreationally for boating and watercraft, however, it was built for flood control purposes and to serve as a water source for Dallas and its suburbs.

History

The lake as seen today is the result of the impounding of two separate lakes, Lake Dallas (impounded in 1928) and Garza-Little Elm Reservoir and Dam. The lake is said to contain submerged houses and construction equipment dating back to the impounding of the Garza-Little Elm Reservoir in 1954.

About

It is generally murky with extremely low visibility. The water by the dam is clear with a visibility of 2 to 3 feet (~1 m).

The lake has many facilities for overnight camping and great fishing—the black bass lake record was broken three times in 2006. It is a beautiful lake with incredible sunsets.

A sunrise over Lewisville Lake, viewed from Highland Village

Statistics

• Shoreline length: 183 miles (295 km)
• Date impounded: 1954
• Conservation pool elevation: 522 feet (159 m) msl
• Flood pool elevation: 532 feet (162 m) msl
• Top of Dam elevation: 537 feet
• Operated by: United States Army Corps of Engineers

Recreation

The lake is very close to a large population base in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, so during the summer months, the lake can become extremely crowded, creating optimal conditions for boating accidents. For a number of years Lewisville Lake was ranked the most dangerous lake in Texas due to the number of accidents and fatalities which occurred. Most of the fatalities are from individuals enjoying the day at the many parks around the lake and going too far out in the water. The number of actual boating accidents on the lake is fairly low. Adding to the danger for boats and other recreational watercraft, the lake contains numerous shallow areas with exposed and submerged trunks and other water hazards. Other recreation around the lake also includes a few areas for public hunting of water fowl and feral hogs (archery only).

There are four marinas based on the lake and two bars.

Party Cove located in near the old damn is home to the weekend revelers.

Transportation

There are two bridges that currently cross the lake. The main bridge is on Interstate 35E, which crosses the lake on its western finger and is a notorious traffic bottleneck during rush hour. The other current bridge is on the eastern finger of the Lake through Little Elm, connecting two halves of Farm to Market Road 720, locally known as Eldorado Parkway.

There is a proposed bridge that will be a tollway connecting Little Elm via Eldorado Parkway and Interstate 35E near Swisher Road.

Trivia

Three cities surrounding Lewisville Lake have their names linked to various names of the lake: Lake Dallas, Little Elm, and Lewisville.

See also

• Grapevine Lake

External links

• Texas Parks and Wildlife Lake Info
• US Army Corps of Engineers
• Lewisville Lake from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Lewisville Lake Sailing Club
• Pier 121 Yacht Club
• Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club
• Pier 121 Marina
• Eagle Point Marina
• Sneaky Pete's Bar and Grill
• Lakeview Marina
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lewisville Lake
• Tow Boat U.S. Lake Lewisville