With help from heavy rainfall, Texas inches closer to opening its first water reservoir in decades
With help from heavy rainfall, Texas inches closer to opening its first water reservoir in decades
Construction on the lake’s dam, along with restoration work, is still underway at Bois d’Arc Lake.
Bois d Arc Lake is filling quickly and as expected, the North Texas Municipal Water District said. Construction of the lake s dam and surrounding offices are taking place and the lake is planned to begin operating as a reservoir in 2022. (Photo courtesy of the North Texas Municipal Water District)
4:40 PM on Jun 14, 2021 CDT
A Stream is Reborn as Part of Bois d’Arc Lake Project in North Texas
One of largest environmental efforts in the country has just rebirthed a Texas stream. This summer, the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) orchestrated improvements to the Willow Branch Creek, which sits at the heart of 17,000 acres being restored as part of its Bois d’Arc Lake construction project. Bois d’Arc is the first major reservoir to be built in Texas in about 30 years.
NTMWD and its contractor Resource Environmental Solution (RES) restored and enhanced approximately 17 miles of the creek and tributaries by restoring them to their natural, meandering path. This concludes a key piece of the project’s massive environmental restoration, which includes planting over 5 million trees, restoring/enhancing over 8,500 acres of wetlands, enhancing/restoring 70 miles of existing streams and planting approximately 3,200 acres of native grasslands.
Bois dâarc Lake and Lake Ralph Hall, the two largest lakes to be built in Texas in the past 30 years, are expected to pump millions of dollars into the Northeast Texas economy while supplying water to a thirsty Dallas metroplex.
Construction of Bois dâArc Lake, northeast of Bonham, is nearing completion while Lake Ralph Hall, northeast of Ladonia, gained final approval in early 2020 with work expected to begin in early 2021.
News about the two lakes takes spot No. 8 in The Paris News Top Ten stories of 2020.
Constructed by the North Texas Municipal Water District regional water system to supply water to the 80 communities it serves in the Dallas Metroplex, Bois dâArc Lake will inundate 16,641 acres of land and is expected to produce upwards of 70 million gallons of water daily starting in 2022.