A red sun low over Slim Lake through wildfire haze, its reflection a column of orange on the water

Reservoirs in Texas

80 of 1,376 measured Texas lakes (6%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 78 carry a High or Significant hazard rating.

Reading the Texas reservoir landscape

80 reservoirs in Texas appear in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. That's a meaningful share — reservoir lakes carry their own ecology and access patterns distinct from natural lakes, including managed water levels, drawdowns timed to the dam's purpose, and shoreline mix dominated by structures built post-impoundment.

Water supply leads the purpose mix for Texas's reservoirs — these are municipal or industrial water-storage lakes where the dam exists primarily to maintain reliable downstream-or-pipeline water delivery. Recreation use is often allowed but secondary to the water-supply mission; expect higher water-quality standards (treated water frequently sourced from these reservoirs) but sometimes restricted boat access, motor limits, or shoreline-development bans to protect the supply.

The USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID) catalogs every dam in the United States above a size threshold — typically 25 feet in height or 50 acre-feet in maximum storage, plus all dams classified as high-hazard regardless of size. The reservoir records below pull NID fields (year built, hazard class, maximum storage, surface area at normal pool, dam length, primary purpose) and pair them with water-quality data where the impoundment also appears in EPA's lake-monitoring inventory.

Why these Texas reservoirs were built

Water Supply

Flood Risk Reduction

Irrigation

Recreation

Other

Hydroelectric

Total reservoirs

675,500

Total surface acres

16,790,719

Normal storage (ac-ft)

High or Significant hazard

All 80 Texas reservoirs (by surface area)

Reservoir	County	Surface area	Year built	Purpose	Hazard
Toledo Bend Reservoir Southwest of Haddens	Newton	182,490 ac	1966	Hydroelectric	High
Amistad Reservoir	Val Verde	89,000 ac	1969	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Ray Roberts Lake	Cooke	29,350 ac	1986	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Fork Reservoir	Wood	27,690 ac	1980	Water Supply	High
Whitney Lake	Hill	23,560 ac	1951	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Twin Buttes Reservoir	Tom Green	23,508 ac	1963	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lewisville Lake	Denton	23,280 ac	1955	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lavon Lake	Collin	21,400 ac	1952	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake O the Pines Mid Lake	Marion	18,700 ac	1958	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Kemp	Baylor	16,540 ac	1923	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Meredith	Hutchinson	16,513 ac	1965	Recreation	High
Bois D'Arc Lake	Fannin	16,500 ac	2023	—	High
Hubbard Creek Reservoir	Stephens	14,922 ac	1962	Water Supply	High
B A Steinhagen Reservoir	Jasper	14,700 ac	1951	Other	High
Lake Limestone	Leon	12,553 ac	1978	Irrigation	High
Canyon Lake	Comal	8,308 ac	1964	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake J B Thomas	Scurry	7,820 ac	1952	Water Supply	High
Grapevine Lake	Tarrant	7,380 ac	1952	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Red Bluff Reservoir	Reeves	7,337 ac	1936	Irrigation	High
Lake Brownwood	Brown	7,300 ac	1933	Water Supply	High
Lake Brownwood N End of Dam	Brown	7,300 ac	1933	Water Supply	High
Waco Lake	McLennan	7,270 ac	1965	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Pat Mayse Reservoir	Lamar	5,993 ac	1967	Flood Risk Reduction	High
O C Fisher Reservoir	Tom Green	5,400 ac	1952	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Navarro Mills Lake	Navarro	5,070 ac	1963	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Cypress Springs Mid Lake	Franklin	4,750 ac	1971	Water Supply	High
Lake Stamford	Haskell	4,690 ac	1953	Water Supply	Significant
Lake Fort Phantom Hill	Jones	4,246 ac	1938	Water Supply	High
Lake Tyler E	Smith	3,584 ac	1967	Water Supply	High
Lake Tyler	Smith	3,584 ac	1949	Water Supply	High
Lake Alan Henry	Garza	2,884 ac	1994	Irrigation	High
Lake Palo Pinto	Palo Pinto	2,661 ac	1964	Water Supply	High
Palo Duro Reservoir	Hansford	2,410 ac	1991	Water Supply	High
Oak Creek Reserv Lake	Coke	2,375 ac	1952	Water Supply	High
Fairfield Lake	Freestone	2,350 ac	1969	Other	Low
Greenbelt Lake	Donley	2,020 ac	1968	Water Supply	High
Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir	McLennan	2,012 ac	1968	Other	High
Lake Arlington	Tarrant	1,926 ac	1957	Water Supply	High
Lake Graham	Young	1,900 ac	1959	Water Supply	High
Lake Coleman	Coleman	1,886 ac	1966	Irrigation	High
Leon Reservoir	Eastland	1,590 ac	1954	Water Supply	High
Pat Cleburne Reservoir	Johnson	1,550 ac	1964	Water Supply	High
Lake Amon G Carter	Montague	1,540 ac	1956	Water Supply	High
Ellison Creek Reservoir	Morris	1,516 ac	1943	Recreation	High
White River Lake	Crosby	1,477 ac	1963	Water Supply	High
Lake Athens	Henderson	1,471 ac	1963	Water Supply	High
Victor Braunig Lake	Bexar	1,350 ac	1963	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Jacksonville	Cherokee	1,325 ac	1957	Water Supply	High
Lake Wichita	Wichita	1,310 ac	1901	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Georgetown	Williamson	1,310 ac	1980	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Houston County Lake	Houston	1,282 ac	1966	Water Supply	High
Walter E Long Lake Mid Lake	Travis	1,269 ac	1967	Recreation	High
Brandy Branch Reservoir	Harrison	1,242 ac	1983	Other	Significant
White Rock Lake	Dallas	1,119 ac	1911	Water Supply	High
Lake Weatherford	Parker	1,090 ac	1957	Irrigation	High
Lake Hawkins	Wood	1,064 ac	1962	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Mexia	Limestone	1,009 ac	1961	Water Supply	High
Lake Mackenzie	Briscoe	896 ac	1974	Water Supply	High
Lake Gilmer	Upshur	895 ac	1996	Water Supply	High
Lake Kirby	Taylor	780 ac	1928	Irrigation	High
Springfield Lake	Limestone	700 ac	1939	Irrigation	High
Lake Eddleman	Young	650 ac	1929	Water Supply	High
Lake Sweetwater Mid Lake	Nolan	588 ac	1930	Water Supply	High
Lake Kiowa	Cooke	560 ac	1970	Recreation	Significant
Pinkston Reservoir	Shelby	549 ac	1977	Water Supply	High
Big Creek Lake	Delta	512.8 ac	1987	Water Supply	High
Hords Creek Reserv Lake	Coleman	510 ac	1948	Water Supply	High
Rita Blanca Lake	Hartley	498 ac	1940	Recreation	High
New Marlin City Lake	Falls	485 ac	1949	Water Supply	High
Lake Gladewater	Upshur	435 ac	1952	Water Supply	High
Purtis Creek Lake	Henderson	349 ac	1985	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Tanglewood	Randall	258 ac	1965	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Timpson Northeast of Dam	Shelby	230 ac	1956	Water Supply	Low
Marine Creek Lake	Tarrant	209 ac	1958	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lynchburg Reservoir	Harris	200 ac	1976	—	High
Buffalo Springs Lake	Lubbock	200 ac	1959	Water Supply	High
Lake Jacksboro Mid Lake	Jack	115 ac	1950	Irrigation	High
Lake Fryer	Ochiltree	90 ac	1939	Recreation	High
Lake Daingerfield Headwaters	Morris	68.9 ac	1935	Recreation	High
Phelps Lake	Rockwall	45 ac	1955	Flood Risk Reduction	High

Frequently Asked Questions

How many reservoirs are in Texas?

80 of 1,376 measured Texas lakes (6%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 78 are rated High or Significant hazard, meaning failure would put downstream lives or property at substantial risk. The oldest matched dam dates to 1901.

What's the largest reservoir in Texas?

The largest matched reservoir in Texas is Toledo Bend Reservoir Southwest of Haddens in Newton County at 182,490 acres of normal surface area, impounded by the Toledo Bend Saddle Dike 3 (completed 1966).

What's the difference between a reservoir and a natural lake?

A reservoir is a body of water impounded by a man-made dam — typically built for flood control, hydroelectric power, water supply, irrigation, or recreation. A natural lake formed without human intervention, usually from glacial scouring, volcanic activity, or river meandering. Reservoirs typically have shoreline that fluctuates with seasonal water level management, while natural lakes have more stable shorelines. The USACE National Inventory of Dams classifies every regulated dam in the United States, which is how we identify which LakeQuality lakes are actually reservoirs.

What does the hazard class mean?

USACE assigns each dam a hazard potential classification based on what would happen downstream if the dam failed — NOT how likely the dam is to fail. "Low" hazard means dam failure would cause no probable loss of life and only low economic loss. "Significant" means probable loss of life is unlikely but appreciable economic damage would occur. "High" means probable loss of life and significant economic damage. The classification is about consequence, not condition. Many High-hazard dams are perfectly safe; they're rated High because populated areas have grown downstream over time.

Where does this reservoir data come from?

Every reservoir record on this page is matched to the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all dams ≥25 ft tall or impounding ≥50 acre-feet, plus any dam that poses a Significant or High hazard regardless of size. The NID is published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and updated annually. Surface area, storage capacity, dam height, and hazard classification come directly from NID records.

Where to stay near Texas reservoirs

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More on reservoirs and water quality

Are Reservoirs Cleaner Than Natural Lakes?

Dam-built reservoirs and natural lakes compared side by side on the same nutrient and algae measurements — the gap, the reasons behind it, and the exceptions.

Do Deeper Lakes Have Better Water Quality?

Surveyed maximum depth against nutrient and algae readings: the pattern, the shallow lakes that still read clean, and why land use beats bathymetry.

Lake Water Quality Explained: What the Readings Mean

How nutrient and algae readings are read against EPA ecoregion condition classes, what each class means in the water, and why a clean reading is not a clearance.

Why Lakes Turn Green: Phosphorus and Nutrient Pollution

How phosphorus and nutrient runoff drive algae growth and turn lakes green, where the nutrients come from, and what it means for a lake’s readings.

Data source

Reservoir data from the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all regulated dams. Dam attributes (height, year completed, storage capacity, hazard class) are matched to LakeQuality lakes by proximity and dam-name similarity. Some lakes may be reservoirs that aren't matched if the dam record uses a name substantially different from our lake name.