With the constant droughts and water restrictions we seem to be fighting it makes me wonder, why doesn't anybody build more lakes for water storage/useage. I keep hearing we are going to run out of water but anytime a lake is proposed to being built people fight it until it's cancelled. What am I missing? Why are some people so against building new lakes?

Im with ya, I dont understand either. I would love to have a lake no more than 15 mins away. Here in Houston, with all this traffic, it takes a while to get anywhere.

I remember it was once proposed a few years ago to build a 500 acre lake in Katy. However, it was struck down to make a 500 acre wetland for duck hunting.

But even then, building a lake is a HUGE project.

Be glad we had old Lyndon B.think how bad it would be without the new lakes he pushed through or old one he raised the level on.

It's pretty simple actually!

The main reason was people didn't want to give up their families land that they've owned for generations, and then you throw in politics and greed into the mix, and it all turns public opinion against large cities taking over rural counties for their own gain.

It happened with that proposed lake south east of San Antonio back about twenty years ago, and also the ill fated Applewhite resorvior that was supposed to be built on the Medina river to the southwest almost two decades ago.

Those lakes could have been built years ago, and relieving a lot of the need for drinking water, but I doubt that there will be any new lakes built in the near future as they should already be in the planning stage and they are not.

After all the lack of rain fall for Houston this year so far we need to do something, Lake Houston is running dry I don't think its going to dry up but it is going to hit a all time low on water. We are in trouble, when they don't decide to do any other lakes in the Houston area they need to dredge out more of the lake to make it deeper so when it does rain or we get a hurricane there will be more water in the lake.

Yea i heard a few years ago they were posted to build a granddaddy lake biggest lake in texas near tawakoni, somewhere on the north east side.... I then heard it didnt go through cause, it was families land and lots of reletives were buried on it..it would be nice to build one at least the size of the great salt lake in utah.

Yeah who cares about flooding millions of acres of what's left of hardwood river bottoms and destroying all that wildlife habitat? Who cares about people losing the farms and ranches that have been in their families for generations? Why should we have to learn how to conserve water in order to live within the limits of what nature gives us when we can just build a dam to water our precious little lawns and give us a place to fish so we are not put out by having to travel to fish? How inconsiderate of those selfish bastages wanting to stop our lakes. Any moving water should be dammed on sight! No more rivers! We want lakes! I gotta water my golf course and don't want to drive more than 10 miles to play on my wakeboard!

Hey, take it easy, we have not been confiscating land and building lakes at even a snail's pace. In fact, alot more forest and prestine prairie is destroyed by developers, putting up new malls, subdivisions, commercial ventures. That said, new lakes are not always the answer. Ask the folks in San Angelo.

AS the population has exploded in Texas since the 50s &60s River and streams and more importantly Water Tables cant meet consuption demand without Lakes.Its not just lawns and city needs its just as much our family farms and ranches,huge amounts of Irrigation all across Texas.There is still places to put and a great need for large lakes. And yes there should be design in building dams that allow certain amounts of water to devert to stream channel below. Oh, and if Rockland Dam ever goes in my family farm will be covered,bring it on.

Now that's what I am looking for! The reason people protest them.
I just keep thinking about how Amistad is so large, in the middle of nowheres, lands still cheap, borderline worthless. It has stayed below pool most of it's life but look what happened last year (or the year before, I can't remember exactly). It is still holding nicely. Would you fellas be against a lake in the middle of the desert?

You have to have a reliable water source to make it feasible for going to the expense of aquiring land and building a dam, so what desert do you have in mind?

Both Amistad and Falcon where joint ventures to provide irrigation and water to both sides of the border and when you factor that in plus evaporation and drought, you will have extreme fluctuations in lake levels.

I was thinking above Amistad. Yep I know that country isn't good for reliable rainfall but what part is now a days? We just have to figure something out in this state with all the new folks moving in. It only takes about 3 minutes without water to realize how important it really is. Plus I could really use the lake front property .

There is something in that statement that says a lot about our overconsumption of water. There is a difference between need and want for the uses of water. Green lawns is a want, but hygiene and and health are needs. First, we need to strongly evaluate our conservation practices. Second, we need to find ways to increase water storage capacity. Not the other way.

If you go on the idea of just building big lakes, by the time west texas got done damming all the rivers and creeks, there wouldn't be any making it to the areas lower in the watershed.

more lakes. sounds good.hard to do.

Why don�t we build more lakes? Let�s get on the same page here. Lakes are not built; they are natural low lying areas that have been inundated over time. Reservoirs are built with the purpose of water supply, hydro-electric, flood control, or for recreational purposes.

Reservoirs significantly alter the hydrologic regime of riverine ecosystems. The much needed flood flows are forever changes and consequently the river is changed as well. So, you say who cares about the river anyways? There ain�t no largemouth bass or stripers in the river we can fish for. Our Texas Rivers sustain a diverse fish assemblage that is an indicator of ecosystem health. These little fishes that most people have no clue about serve as the canary in the coal mine, if you will.

Did you know that Texas is home to approximately 268 native fishes, of which 40% are of conservation concern in need of some level of protection??? Reservoir construction and the inundation of free-flowing rivers have played a big part in the threat to native fishes in Texas.

Back to the reservoirs. You do realize that these systems are initially stocked and continually stocked and undergo intense fisheries management to provide game fish opportunities, right? They are not self-sustaining sport fisheries in the sense that most anglers would like. Why do you think we have so many hatcheries and stocking programs to support these reservoirs? Rivers don�t need this type of artificial life support. They are able to support the diverse aquatic life by self-sustaining means.

Someone above made a great argument. You want more reservoirs? Are you not aware two reservoirs will be constructed in Fannin County within the next 20 years? Lake Ralph Hall and Lower Bois d� Arc Creek Reservoir are in the reservoir pipeline as we speak. Both are being built as water supply reservoirs for the DFW metro area. Why did they choose Fannin County? Maybe just maybe Fannin County is relatively poor and the Water Buffalos and their attorneys could easily �persuade� folks to move off of their land that has been in the family for generations. Sure, they can go find another place to live. Bottomland hardwoods are easily replaceable and cheap to purchase. Yeah right! Keep this in mind: Extinction is forever, Dams are not!