Lake Ray Hubbard

This article is about the lake. For the bus station, see Lake Ray Hubbard Transit Center.
Lake Ray Hubbard
Location Rockwall / Dallas / Collin / Kaufman Counties, Texas, US
Coordinates 32°47′58″N 96°29′42″W / 32.79944°N 96.49500°W / 32.79944; -96.49500Coordinates: 32°47′58″N 96°29′42″W / 32.79944°N 96.49500°W / 32.79944; -96.49500
Type Reservoir
Basin countries United States
Surface area 22,745 acres (9,205 ha)
Max. depth 40 ft (12 m)
Surface elevation 435.5 ft (132.7 m)

Lake Ray Hubbard, formerly Forney Lake, is a fresh water impoundment (reservoir) located in Dallas, Texas in the counties of Dallas, Kaufman, Collin, and Rockwall just north of the City of Forney.[1] It was created by the construction of the Rockwall-Forney Dam which impounded the East Fork Trinity River.

It measures 22,745 acres (92 km²) in size with a storage capacity of 490,000 acre feet (600,000,000 m3) and a maximum depth of 40 feet (12 m). The dam is currently owned by the City of Dallas. Interstate 30 bisects the lake. The lake was originally named Forney Lake for the nearby town of Forney, Texas. After the City of Dallas incorporated the lake, it was renamed after a living person, Ray Hubbard, who presided over the Dallas Parks and Recreation System board from 1943 to 1972. However, the company that administrates the distribution of its waters is still known as Forney Lake Water Supply Corp. The reservoir is currently managed by Dallas Water Utilities.

History

Originally designed to provide water to the North Texas region, the project was started in 1964 and managed by the S. and A. Construction Company and the Markham, Brown and M. C. Winter Construction Company. The lake was impounded in 1968, and a 2-mile (3.2 km) earthfill dam was completed in 1969. By 1970 the lake reached its maximum design extent.

Due to the territorial expansion and exercise of the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Dallas, the lake and the Interstate 30 bridges are now within the jurisdiction of the City of Dallas, rather than the cities surrounding it. There is a mutual aid agreement in place between Dallas and the other cities, but ultimate responsibility lies with Dallas.

Several areas of the lake have been infested with hydrilla.

Because of its location in a densely populated area, the lake is crossed by several bridges and causeways. The most significant is Interstate 30, with six lanes on a 2.9-mile (4.7 km) causeway that bisects the lake, and President George Bush Turnpike, the eastern expansion completed in 2012 with a 0.9-mile (1.4 km) bridge spanning the Rowlett Creek inlet.[2] The 1.8-mile (2.9 km) Texas State Highway 66 bridge was constructed in the 1970s and twinned in the early 2000s, joining Rowlett and Rockwall, and other minor bridges exist on Rowlett Road and Miller Road. There is also a railway crossing formerly operated by Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, now part of Union Pacific, which crosses the Muddy Creek inlet and joins the I-30 causeway.

Fishing

The lake contains a large population of hybrid striped bass, white bass, largemouth bass, channel catfish, blue catfish, white crappie, and alligator gar.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lake Ray Hubbard General Info Retrieved 31-Jul-2006
  2. ↑ "The President George Bush Turnpike: Eastern Expansion", Retrieved 09-Apr-2009.
  3. ↑ "Fishing Lake Ray Hubbard". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved 2 Apr 2013.
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