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Lake Waco
Lake Waco is a man-made reservoir located on the west side of Waco, in McLennan County, Texas. It provides water to several cities in the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area, including Waco (pop. 135,858), Bellmead (pop. 9,901), Hewitt (pop. 13,368), Robinson (pop. 10,509), Woodway (pop. 8,452) and others in the Cross Timbers and Prairies ecoregion of Texas. Lake Waco was formed by a dam built on the Bosque River basin. The lake has 79,000 acre-feet (97,000,000 m3) of water and is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Originally built in 1930 by Callahan Construction Company, the Lake Waco Dam was used to control flooding of the Bosque river and to provide the city of Waco with a consistent water source. Due to increasing flood threats and population growth, the Flood Control Act of 1954 allowed for construction of a modern earthen dam to replace the original structure. The new dam, finished in 1965 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was 24,618 feet (7,504 m) in length with a height of 140 feet (43 m), increasing the surface area of the lake to 8,190 acres (3,310 ha). While the original dam cost only $2.5 million to construct, the new dam would reach a cost of $53.4 million. In 2003, the top of the conservation pool was raised by 7 feet (2.1 m) to bring the water level to 462 feet (141 m) above sea level.
Lake Waco was formed from the merging of the North and South Bosque River, each being the major tributaries of the larger Brazos River. The spillway of the dam again outflows into the Bosque river, before joining with the Brazos. The average surface area of Lake Waco is 7,712 acres (31.21 km2), surrounded by over 60 miles (97 km) of shoreline. The average depth is around 20 feet (6.1 m), however the max depth extends to 85 feet (26 m).
The average elevation of Lake Waco is held around 460 feet (140 m) above sea level, with a typical fluctuation of 2 to 6 feet (0.61 to 1.83 m). Prior to the construction of the new dam, droughts and floods were common occurrences for the city of Waco. However, the new dam has proven to be the proper solution, as there has not been any serious floods since its installation. However, a 2011 study from the Texas Water Development Board found that Lake Waco loses between 206 to 334 acre-feet (254,000 to 412,000 m3) of capacity every year due to sediment deposition.
The large amount of sediment and nutrient deposition results in eutrophic lake conditions, with algae and smartweed being the primary competitors for nutrients. The Bosque River as a whole is considered to have high nitrogen and phosphorus levels due to fertilizer runoff, and Lake Waco is no exception. The average total phosphorus load to Lake Waco is 147,093 kg/yr, while the total nitrogen load averages at 1,447,383 kg/yr. However, the nutrient concentrations in the lake suggest that just over half of this is deposited in an unusable form. The table below shows the average level of solute concentrations of each of the four streams that in-flow to Lake Waco, concentrations being in parts per million.
The amount of dissolved solids, combined with the suspension of clay from the in-flowing rivers, can cause high turbidity in Lake Waco, which can limit algal growth as the water becomes less transparent. In 2010, a large comprehensive study of Lake Waco was conducted to monitor chemical aspects of the water including nutrient levels, temperature, oxygen, pH, total organic carbon, and chlorophyll. The sediment core samples were found to consist mainly of silt and clay from the tributaries deposition.
Waco is home to a humid subtropical climate, consisting of hot, dry summers and mild winters with little snowfall. The annual rainfall for Waco is 37.51 inches (95.3 cm) per year, with some form of precipitation falling an average of 76.4 days out of the year. The average high temperature in July is 95.4 °F (35.2 °C), while the average low temperature in the month of January is 35.7 °F (2.1 °C).
Lake Waco hosts an extremely wide variety of plant life, and students of Baylor University have done a great job at classifying several of these organisms.[citation needed] Some trees and shrubs found on Lake Waco include Box elder maple, several variations of Sumac, Agarita, Roughleaf dogwood, Honeylocust, Pecan, Mesquite, along with several types of Oak, Elm, and Ash trees. Lake Waco is also home to several flowering plants such as Cocklebur, Giant goldenrod, and Papyrus. There are also several species of aquatic plants such as Cattails, Pickerelweed, and Water lilies. Wildflowers also cover the land surrounding Lake Waco, including Horsemint, the Common sunflower, Texas bull nettle, and the Wild petunia.
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Lake Waco
Lake Waco is a man-made reservoir located on the west side of Waco, in McLennan County, Texas. It provides water to several cities in the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area, including Waco (pop. 135,858), Bellmead (pop. 9,901), Hewitt (pop. 13,368), Robinson (pop. 10,509), Woodway (pop. 8,452) and others in the Cross Timbers and Prairies ecoregion of Texas. Lake Waco was formed by a dam built on the Bosque River basin. The lake has 79,000 acre-feet (97,000,000 m3) of water and is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Originally built in 1930 by Callahan Construction Company, the Lake Waco Dam was used to control flooding of the Bosque river and to provide the city of Waco with a consistent water source. Due to increasing flood threats and population growth, the Flood Control Act of 1954 allowed for construction of a modern earthen dam to replace the original structure. The new dam, finished in 1965 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was 24,618 feet (7,504 m) in length with a height of 140 feet (43 m), increasing the surface area of the lake to 8,190 acres (3,310 ha). While the original dam cost only $2.5 million to construct, the new dam would reach a cost of $53.4 million. In 2003, the top of the conservation pool was raised by 7 feet (2.1 m) to bring the water level to 462 feet (141 m) above sea level.
Lake Waco was formed from the merging of the North and South Bosque River, each being the major tributaries of the larger Brazos River. The spillway of the dam again outflows into the Bosque river, before joining with the Brazos. The average surface area of Lake Waco is 7,712 acres (31.21 km2), surrounded by over 60 miles (97 km) of shoreline. The average depth is around 20 feet (6.1 m), however the max depth extends to 85 feet (26 m).
The average elevation of Lake Waco is held around 460 feet (140 m) above sea level, with a typical fluctuation of 2 to 6 feet (0.61 to 1.83 m). Prior to the construction of the new dam, droughts and floods were common occurrences for the city of Waco. However, the new dam has proven to be the proper solution, as there has not been any serious floods since its installation. However, a 2011 study from the Texas Water Development Board found that Lake Waco loses between 206 to 334 acre-feet (254,000 to 412,000 m3) of capacity every year due to sediment deposition.
The large amount of sediment and nutrient deposition results in eutrophic lake conditions, with algae and smartweed being the primary competitors for nutrients. The Bosque River as a whole is considered to have high nitrogen and phosphorus levels due to fertilizer runoff, and Lake Waco is no exception. The average total phosphorus load to Lake Waco is 147,093 kg/yr, while the total nitrogen load averages at 1,447,383 kg/yr. However, the nutrient concentrations in the lake suggest that just over half of this is deposited in an unusable form. The table below shows the average level of solute concentrations of each of the four streams that in-flow to Lake Waco, concentrations being in parts per million.
The amount of dissolved solids, combined with the suspension of clay from the in-flowing rivers, can cause high turbidity in Lake Waco, which can limit algal growth as the water becomes less transparent. In 2010, a large comprehensive study of Lake Waco was conducted to monitor chemical aspects of the water including nutrient levels, temperature, oxygen, pH, total organic carbon, and chlorophyll. The sediment core samples were found to consist mainly of silt and clay from the tributaries deposition.
Waco is home to a humid subtropical climate, consisting of hot, dry summers and mild winters with little snowfall. The annual rainfall for Waco is 37.51 inches (95.3 cm) per year, with some form of precipitation falling an average of 76.4 days out of the year. The average high temperature in July is 95.4 °F (35.2 °C), while the average low temperature in the month of January is 35.7 °F (2.1 °C).
Lake Waco hosts an extremely wide variety of plant life, and students of Baylor University have done a great job at classifying several of these organisms.[citation needed] Some trees and shrubs found on Lake Waco include Box elder maple, several variations of Sumac, Agarita, Roughleaf dogwood, Honeylocust, Pecan, Mesquite, along with several types of Oak, Elm, and Ash trees. Lake Waco is also home to several flowering plants such as Cocklebur, Giant goldenrod, and Papyrus. There are also several species of aquatic plants such as Cattails, Pickerelweed, and Water lilies. Wildflowers also cover the land surrounding Lake Waco, including Horsemint, the Common sunflower, Texas bull nettle, and the Wild petunia.