Lake Conroe Data
Lake Conroe is formed by an earth fill dam 11,300 ft long, including a controlled spillway. The dam was completed Sept. 1, 1972, and deliberate impoundment began Jan. 9, 1973. Water is used for municipal and industrial purposes in the Houston metropolitan area. A small diversion is also made for cooling purposes at the Gulf State Utilities generating plant on Lewis Creek Reservoir near Conroe. A spillway with five 40- x 30-foot tainter gates is located near the center of dam. Low-flow releases are made through a separate multi-gated inlet tower. The tower has three gated openings and one uncontrolled opening. It is connected to a stilling basin and a concrete weir by a 14-foot-diameter conduit through the dam. The dam is under the jurisdiction and management of the San Jacinto River Authority. The people who manage the dam day-to-day
are good folks and would probably give you a tour of the dam if you drove up Damsite Road and asked them nicely.
The customary lake level is 201 feet above sea level (called "the top of the conservation pool" in United States Geological Service parlance), representing 416,200 acre feet of water.
Although called a constant level lake in some quarters, the level of the lake can vary widely. On October 17, 1994, the lake level reached an elevation of 205.61 feet above sea level. That's darn close to the top of the Walden concrete bulkheads, and sufficient to top the
pre-2000 Walden Road bridge, turning Walden peninsula into Walden Island! Going to the other extreme, on January 11, 1989, the lake dropped all the way down to 196.17 feet above sea level. At that level, many docks sit over a pool of
mud and the lake becomes extremely treacherous for boaters due to the
possibility of striking submerged hazards.
For realtime Lake Conroe data (e.g., current lake level) from the USGS, click here.
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