i don't get it lake level on benbrook

lake level is back to -5 feet.... really?

it was at +10 feet...

I fished it Monday and thought the same thing. Probably wont be launching at the marina till it comes back up.

http://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/benbrook/faq.asp

From the link I provided...

: Why does Benbrook get so low every year?

A: It has not always gotten so low. The water in Benbrook Lake was originally intended to supply navigation use in the Trinity River, but demands never developed. In 1992 the water was re-allocated for municipal water supply, and the water rights sold to the Tarrant Regional Water District [TRWD]. A large pipeline now connects the lake with the Rolling Hills Water Plant on Interstate 20, and so with the Cedar Creek and Richland-Chambers water supply reservoirs. TRWD pumps water from these reservoirs into Benbrook during the winter months, allowing it to utilyze lower winter electrical rates for pumping. In the summer months, when both water and electrical demands and rates are the highest, water is released from Benbrook Dam to flow downriver to water plants in downtown Fort Worth, without having to be pumped. This provides all of us savings on our water bills and ensures water availability in the summer at our homes, but it has been at the cost of recreation opportunities at the lake.

They sell the water. They were one of the first that realized how much they could make off the rain

It's a distribution lake from way I understand it. But it's one heck of a little bass lake

I give up. The water never stays high.

FYI, I think it was over 15+ a few weeks ago.

It was

Here's the part that I don't understand. Everybody knows in summer lake levels fall with usage and evaporation. Why, when Benbrook was 16+ feet above normal, and they let water out to pull it down, they didn't leave it at least 3 ft above pool to allow for summer usage and evaporation. You can always let water out if need be, but it's hard to put it back when the rains don't come.
The ramps could have still been usable and the parks etc. Does it take rocket science to be proactive with all that we've been though the past 6 or 7 years with the drought? Since July, we've had somewhere close to zilch rain fall until today. If, the rain had of continued into and beyond July, the water district could have continued to let water out as needed to keep the level at a sustained amount. But, what the heck do I know, I ain't no scientist, water manager, etc, just a dumb-[censored] fisherman like the rest of us, but I do use the water that comes out of my faucets, and have to listen to the "let's save water" conservation programs ad-nauseam ....I think some of those high paid water managers are over-paid and under educated.
just my two cents....Now I will crawl off my soap-box and go crawl back into my boat....

fish on....

That makes to much since this is government work

Did any of you read the link I posted. Pretty simple.

I think this chart of Benbrook's levels likely line up with the points made about acquiring water over winter months via the two east Texas reservoirs, playing it out on a gravity feed in the other months. That, and general rain conditions and cooler weather . . . meaning less evaporation would affect the chart history.

If another thread is correct, Lake Palestine will soon be added to the reservoirs that will provide potential water to D/FW.

Over the course of a year, lakes in our region generally lose about 50" or so to evaporation. So, if we get 30" of rain, lose 50" to evaporation, the rest comes from expansive watersheds, other lakes upstream . . . and springs in some cases.

It makes me wonder if the Walsh Ranch project west of Fort Worth, supposedly the largest of its kind in American history, is going to pull water from Benbrook . . . or does it have other water resources in mind?

A chart below. Brad

Come on guys, the metromess isn't shrinking. It's just going to get worse.

+1

they should have leave it 10 feet above pool and front there do their "thing"

If they are gonna continue to let it get so low, I wish they would add a low water ramp so the lake can continue to be used.

Heck of an idea. If you start a petition, I'll sign it.