Texas Almanac, 1945-1946 Page: 168
[610] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
168 TEXAS ALMANAC.-1945-1946.
have been constructed during the last few
years with Federal Government grants and
oans. (See list, p. 173.)
A combination of need and adaptability of
topography has placed most of these reser-
voirs in a band extending approximately from
the Red River between Denison and Vernon
southwestward to the Balcones Fault line be-
tween San Antonio and Del Rio. Within this
area, having about one fifth of the area of
Texas, lies about 90 per cent of the state's
impounded waters.
There were in Texas, early in 1945, eighty-
four reservoirs having each a minimum of
1,000 acre-feet of water with a total capacity
at spillway level of about 12,400,000 acre-feet.
The combined surface area of these lakes at
spillway level was about 220,000 acres, or
about 348 square miles. (See p. 173.)
TEXAS DRAINAGE BASINS
The total water and land area of Texas,
amounting to 267,339 square miles, is divided
into the following major drainage basins
Square Square
*Watershed- Miles. *Watershed- Miles.
tCanadian ..... 13,154 Guadalupe .... 5,850
Red ........... 30,700 San Antonio.... 4.535
Sabine ......... 7,360 Nueces .... 16,805
Neches .........10,100 $Rio Grande in
Trinity ........17,600 Texas ...... 40,616
San Jacinto .... 2,880 Small coast
Brazos ........ 41,700 streams ..... 27,675
Colorado ....... 37,800 Diablo Bolson... 8,284
Lavaca ........ 2,280 Total ....... 267,339
Basin-Wide Prolects.
An advancement in the conservation policy
in recent years in Texas has been general ac-
ceptance of the method of attacking surface-
water problems as basin-wide undertakings.
The surface of Texas has fifteen major
drainage basins. From the viewpoints of
both geographic grouping and political author-
ity, they may be divided into three groups:
(1) Those belonging to the Mississippi River
system, including the Canadian and Red
Rivers; (2) those that rise in Texas and flow
into the Gulf and are largely under the
jurisdiction of Texas state conservation au-
thorities, and (3) the Rio Grande and its
tributaries, the conservation problems of
which are complicated by both international
and interstate interests.
From the viewpoint of the purely Dhysical
problem of controlling and conserving the
waters of Texas river basins, there are two
classes: (1) The streams entirely in the
humid belt, including those in the basins of
the Sabine, Neches and the San Jacinto Riv-
ers: (2) those that rise in the arid and semi-
arid regions and flow through the humid
coastal belst on the way to the sea.
There is also another drainage basin classi-
fication, a minor one though very interesting,
in the Diablo Bolson of the Trans-Pecos,
whose waters never flow to the sea but are
collected from an area of 8.284 square miles
into salt basins at the foot of the Guadalupe
Mountains.
It is the second type of river that contrib-
utes peculiar difficulties to the conservation
problem in Texas. To best serve the pur-
poses of mankind a river should rise in a
umid area and flow through an arid region.
There are a few such rivers in the world,
notably the Nile.
In Texas the problems presented by a re-
verse situation are magnified by climato-
logical and topographical conditions. In the
western or semiarid region rain usually falls
rapidly and the rolling terrain contributes to
rapid runoff. As a result, there is very rapid
discharge from the upper reaches of these
rivers into the meandering channels of the
coastal plain, greatly increasing the possibili-
ties of flood damage.
Includes only area in Texas.
tIncludes basin of North Canadian, amounting
to 3,414 square miles, which dips into northern
Panhandle and then flows out of state to conflu-
ence with the main Canadian channel in Okla-
homa.
tlncludes Devil's River basin of 3,000 square
miles and Pecos River basin in Texas of 16,916
square miles.The surface water conservation problem of
Texas is primarily one of conserving in reser-
voirs the rapid runoff in the upper regions of
the river, for the reasons (1) that the water
is needed In that area, and (2) that its deten-
tion in that area regulates the flow in the
lower meandering channels and lessens flood
damage
RIVER BASINS-WATER PROJECTS
Principal characteristics of each of the
principal watersheds of Texas are given in
following paragraphs with notations on the
outstanding existing and tentative conserva-
tion projects in each basin. A list of all
reservoirs of more than 1.000 acre-feet ca-
pacity will be found on p. 173.
Canadian Basin.-The main channel of the
Canadian River crosses the Panhandle from
west to east. A wide draw on the western
boundary line. It becomes a deep gorge as it
cuts down from High Plains to Low Plains
levels. In this gore are some excellent res-
ervoir sites but the deep accumulation of
sand in the bed of the stream and other
physical characteristics have prevented devel-
opment There are several reservoirs on
tributaries of the Canadian. notably the Rita
Blanca Lake in Hartley County near Dalhart.
Red River Basin.-The Denison Dam on the
river north of Denison was completed early
in 1945. This dam creates the largest reser-
voir in Texas. with a capacity at spillway
level of 5,818,200 acre-feet. This reservoir
has been officially named Lake Texoma. It
was constructed by the United States Army
Engineers at a cost of approximately $54,-
000.000. At normal level, this reservoir floods
95,000 acres of land, of which 26,000 acres are
in Grayson and Cooke Counties, Texas, the
remainder in Oklahoma. This reservoir will
be used for flood control and for the genera-
tion of power. Its operation for these pur-
poses will materially aid in navigation in the
lower channel of the river.
The dam is immediately below the conflu-
ence of the Red and the Washita. At normal
reservoir level the lake will extend forty-
four miles up the Red and twenty-nine miles
up the Washita. Maximum height of the dam
is 165 feet and length of the main dam is
15,350 feet. It is of the earthen roll fill type
and is probably the largest of this classifica-
tion in the world. The reservoir is the fifth
largest in the United States. There will be
five hydroelectric power units with ultimate
energy output of 274.000.000 kilowatt-hours
for the average year and 110,000,000 for the
minimum year. One unit had been installed
early in 1945. The reservoir will be under
the control of the United States Army.
The National Park Service has issued a
report on the scenic, historic, scientific and
recreational resources of the Lake Texoma
area and extensive plans are made for devel-
opment in the postwar period.
The largest reservoir completely in Texas
in the Red River Basin is Lake Kemp, with
a capacity of approximately 600,000 acre-feet.
This reservoir supplies water for the irriga-
tion of a considerable body of land near
Wichita Falls. Construction was under way
early in 1945 on a new reservoir having a
capacity of 105,000 acre-feet on the Little
Wichita River. This reservoir is being con-
structed by the City of Wichita Falls to aug-
ment its water supply.
There are a number of smaller lakes on
the Texas side of the Red River watershed.
(See p. 173.) There are a number of levee
districts on tributaries of the Red, including
the Sulphur. Red River Improvement has
its peculiar problems and needs since It is
(1) an Interstate stream and (2) is part of the
greater Mississippi Basin. There is a Red
River Valley Improvement Association and
also a Pease River Flood Control District on
this tributary of the Red.
Sabine Basin.-An interstate boundary line
stream in its middle and lower courses, this
river is subject to some of the problems of
the Red. No large project has been com-
pleted or is under construction. A number
of sites have been surveyed, however, and
there is a Sabine-Neches Conservation Dis-
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Texas Almanac, 1945-1946, book, 1945; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117166/m1/170/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.