Lake Abilene (Brazos River Basin)
Lake Abilene (also known as Abilene Reservoir or Abilene Dam) is located about six miles northwest of Tuscola in Taylor County, on Elm Creek, a tributary of Clear Fork Brazos River, which is a tributary of the Brazos River. It is owned and operated by the City of Abilene for recreational and emergent water supply purposes. Water Right Permit No. 253 (Application No. 259) authorized the dam and impoundment on September 7, 1918. Construction to the dam started in 1919 and was completed in 1921. Extensive repairs were done in 1941 and 1957. Abilene Dam is an earth-fill embankment with a homogeneous earth core structure. Its maximum height is 64 feet with a length of 5,040 feet. The lake has a normal surface area of 595 acres and a normal storage of 6,099 acre feet. It drains an area of 110 square miles above the dam site.