Significant progress is being made on the largest construction project in all of North Texas – the creation of a new reservoir in Fannin County.
Significant progress is being made on the largest construction project in all of North Texas: the creation of a new reservoir in Fannin County.
Bois d’Arc Lake is the first new major reservoir to be built in Texas in nearly 30 years, according to the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD).
The lake is being built in rural Fannin County, northeast of the town of Bonham, which is approximately 35 miles northeast of McKinney.
The projected population surge in the region – specifically within the service area of the NTMWD – has necessitated the construction of Bois d’Arc Lake. It is expected to meet the drinking water needs of approximately 1.7 million people through the year 2040.
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The lake will cover more than 16,000 acres, which, for reference, makes it more than twice the size of Joe Pool Lake and about half the size of Lake Lewisville.
Construction began in May 2018, and crews have been busy building what will eventually be a 40 foot tall, 2-mile long earthen dam along the east side of the lake, in addition to a pump station and nearby spillway.
A 35-mile long network of massive, 90” pipe will be installed over the coming months that will carry untreated lake water to a treatment facility in Leonard.
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On the west side of the lake, construction crews are busy building a bridge to extend FM 897 over the water and ultimately connect State Route 82 on the south side of Bois d’Arc Lake to FM 1397 on the north side of the lake.
The NTMWD expects to start drawing water from the lake by 2022.
