User:AntrelleClark98/Lake Arlington (Texas)

Location[edit]

Lake Arlington is a tributary of the West Fork Trinity River that lies in Tarrant County, and is surrounded by the cities of Arlington and Fort Worth.^[1] The GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) of Lake Arlington is 32°43' N and 97°12' W. Lake Arlington resides in the Cross Timbers ecoregion of Texas.^[2]

Hydrology[edit]

The lake reaches a maximum depth of 51 feet and fluctuates between 12 feet depending on how much water is removed and added to the lake.^[1] The surface area covers 1,939 acres, containing a total volume of 40,188 acre-feet.^[3] The normal elevation measures to 550 feet with the shoreline stretching for 20 miles.^[3] The waters of Lake Arlington have been classified as eutrophic (nutrient rich and highly productive).^[4]

Village Creek of Tarrant County is the main inflow of water for Lake Arlington.^[5] Once this tributary meets the open waters of the lake, the rest of the water flows outward through the Village Creek Historical Area.^[5] The shoreline of Lake Arlington remains in its natural state, providing fauna with a habitat of grass and shrubs.^[3]

Ecoregion[edit]

The ecoregion of Texas that Lake Arlington resides in is the Cross Timbers ecoregion.^[2] The Cross Timbers ecoregion covers north and central Texas where there are an abundance of trees located on irregular plains and prairies.^[2] The rainfall of the Cross Timbers ecoregion is moderate, but can become erratic from time to time making water sources a limiting factor for organisms living in this area.^[2] The region around Lake Arlington has been labeled as an arid climate in the past, lacking most conditions necessary for an abundance of flora and fauna species to live in this area. With the impoundment of this artificial reservoir, it has provided the surrounding cities with a water body which has become useful for multiple reasons.

Flora[edit]

There has been documentation of hydrilla in the past but there are very few species of flora and vegetation available at Lake Arlington. ^[1] For microflora, there is a presence of blue-green algae, known as cyanobacteria, occasionally and some heterotrophic nanoflagellates. For macroflora, live oak trees grow and thrive along the banks of the river.^[6]

Fauna[edit]

There are many species of fish available at Lake Arlington including Hybrid Stripers, Catfish (including flathead, channel and blue), Florida Largemouth Bass, Black Bass, Sand Bass, and Crappie.^[7] Additionally, there are many types of birds spotted at the lake including the American White Pelican, Ring-billed Gull, Great Blue Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, Belted Kingfisher, Great Egret, and Osprey.^[6] Other wildlife organisms often spotted at this location includes Fox Squirrels and Raccoons.^[6] There is a presence of Threadfin Shad and Gizzards at Lake Arlington (Texas); however, these organisms are used as prey species, providing support to predators located in this reservoir.^[8]

Invasive Species[edit]

Lake Arlington is home to the natives Button Bush (scientifically known as Cephalanthus occidentalis) and American Water-Willow (scientifically known as Justicia Americana), which serves as additional habitat to fish nurseries and represent emergent vegetation.^[8]

Uses/Purposes[edit]

Lake Arlington’s artificial dam water is used to meet the needs of industrial and municipal purposes.^[9] This artificial dam prevents flooding when accompanied by heavy precipitation cycles and works together with the other three Trinity River Basin reservoirs to provide drinking water to the city of Arlington and other borderline cities.^[9] Additionally, the lake provides cooling water to power generating plants located downstream of the dam. This is useful to both the power generating plants and the lake because when the power generating plants discharges warm water back upstream, it attracts fish during colder seasons of the year.^[3] This reservoir is also available for numerous recreational activities.

Recreation[edit]

Recreational activities include paddling trails, fishing, parks, canoeing, kayaking, golf, and many more. The paddling trails were created specifically to attract people that are interested in canoeing and kayaking.^[3] However, there are no camping sites available at this lake.

There are three parks available with access to boating ramps. These parks include the Richard Simpson Park, the Bowman Springs Park, and the Eugene McCray Park.^[10] The Richard Simpson Park can be accessed through Arkansas Lane and has restrooms, ADA-accessibility, parking, courtesy docks, and picnic areas. This boating dock has eight lanes and is opened year around for public use with the purchase of an annual permit or daily permit. ^[10] The Bowman Springs Park can be accessed through Pleasant Ridge and has restrooms, ADA-accessibility, parking, courtesy docks, and picnic areas. This boating dock also has eight lanes that is available for public use year around with a daily or annual permit purchase.^[10] The GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) of this park is 32.68824° and -97.21658°.^[11] The Eugene McCray Park can be accessed by following the Quail Road to the park and provides the public with restrooms, ADA-accessibility, parking, courtesy docks, and picnic areas. The boating dock of the Eugene McCray Park has two lanes and available to the public with a purchase of an annual or daily pass.^[10] There are no entrance fees to get into the parks, but there is a daily fee of $5.00 to access the lake (an annual pass can be purchased for $25.00).^[11]

The public is allowed to fish at Lake Arlington, however there are regulations to ensure safety and size limits to prevent overfishing under the State Laws of Texas. The most important fish regulation includes having a state fishing license for anyone over the age of 17.^[7] Additionally, no one is allowed to catch fish with the intention of sale, fish from any bridge associated with the waters of Lake Arlington and place a line in the open waters that flows near the Lake Arlington dam.^[7] The size limits are as follows: only 5 hybrid stripers can be caught per day and must measure to 18 inches at least, only 25 catfish (a combination of blue catfish and channel catfish) can be caught per day and must measure to 12 inches at least, only 5 flathead catfish can be caught per day and must measure to 18 inches at least, only 5 black bass can be caught per day and must measure to 14 inches at least, only 25 sand bass can be caught per day and must measure to 10 inches at least, and only 25 crappie can be caught per day and must measure to at least 10 inches.^[7]

History[edit]

Lake Arlington’s Dam construction started on May 15 in 1956 and was completely impounded on March 31 in 1957 using earth-filled sediments and a strong clay core.^[9] The Arlington area leaders decided that investing in a lake, now known as Lake Arlington, to provide the city with water would be worth it after experiencing a 10-year drought.^[3] This reservoir is privately owned and managed by the city of Arlington.^[6] The Cross Timbers ecoregion, where Lake Arlington (Texas) is located, was named after early travelers continuously crossed over these areas of timber as they travelled along the open prairies.^[2]