Dallas

Improvements Planned for Lewisville Lake Dam

It's the primary water source for millions of people in North Texas and is also one of the most visited lakes in Texas. So keeping Lewisville Lake contained is crucial.

"We do have some seepage, and what we're trying to do with the project is find a way to control and monitor that seepage more effectively," said Stacy Gray, project manager at the Fort Worth District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The term "seepage" sounds scary, but Gray said seepage is normal along an earthen embankment like the one at Lewisville Lake.

"Seepage can happen anywhere," Gray said. "There are approximately three areas that we track routinely at Lewisville, but we’re constantly monitoring that entire embankment for any changes."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing a report that includes suggested improvements to the Lewisville Lake Dam. That report is expected to be released this summer, then they'll move forward on getting funding for design and construction.

In 2015, the Lewisville Lake Dam had a 161-foot embankment slide.

"Slides are just a fact of life in the soils we have here in Texas," Gray said, adding that the damaged area is "perfectly restored to its pre-slide condition."

So, what are the chances the Lewisville Lake Dam could break and flood everything downstream, which includes parts of the Metroplex?

In the simplest terms, it’s unlikely. More technically, "It would require an extremely high pool what we call a 'probable maximum flood,' which is something that is statistically possible in terms of the modeling, but we've never actually seen a flood of that magnitude," Gray said.

Gray said it’s important to note that when lake levels rise, the US Army Corps of Engineers monitors its dams more often.

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