Canyon Lake (Guadalupe River Basin)
Canyon Lake located approximately twelve miles northwest of New Braunfels in Comal County, on the Guadalupe River. The project is owned by the United State government and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, hydropower generation, water supply and recreational purposes. The United States Congress passed the River and Harbor Act of 1945 and authorization was granted for the construction of the dam. Water Rights Permit No. 1886 (Application No. 1964) was granted to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) on January 22, 1959 by the State Board of Water Engineers. Construction began in 1958 and was finished in 1964. It is the highest earthen dam built by the Corps of Engineers in Texas, rising 224 feet above streambed and having an overall length of 4,410 feet. This project has an uncontrolled spillway that is 1,260 feet long on the right saddle. At top of flood control pool, elevation 943.0, the lake would store 728,400 acre-feet water covering 12,890 acres. According to TWDB 2000 survey, the lake has a capacity of 378,852 acre-feet encompassing a surface area of 8,308 acres at conservation pool elevation, 909 feet above mean sea level. The dam controls a drainage area of approximately 1,432 square miles.