Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake) Water Level
Texas · South Sulphur River
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Water level history
About Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake)
Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake) is a reservoir on the South Sulphur River in Texas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It's a top trophy-bass lake in northeast Texas. Its full summer pool sits at 440 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake)'s water level
This lake has two names because Congress gave it a second one. Built as Cooper Lake and impounded in September 1991, it was renamed Lake Jim Chapman in 1996 for the retiring congressman from Sulphur Springs who had secured its funding. The renaming went down badly locally. Cooper's mayor at the time said the town was devastated by it, and the state park kept the original name, which is why the federal lake and the park beside it are still called different things.
Getting it built took fifty years. Landowners proposed a reservoir here in the late 1930s, Congressman Wright Patman requested a feasibility study in 1948, the Corps reported favourably in 1950, and Congress authorized it in 1955. Then engineers announced in 1957 that the dam site had to move six miles downstream, and environmental litigation held the project up until an appeals court lifted the injunction in 1984. Construction finally ran from 1987 to 1991. The spillway is an uncontrolled ogee weir 700 feet wide with its crest at 446.2 feet, which is also the top of the flood pool.
Its defining drought was earlier than most Texas reservoirs. The record low of 422.02 feet came on 28 December 2006, with the lake at about fifteen percent of capacity, at the end of a hard 2004 to 2007 dry spell. The 2011 to 2014 drought was severe but never quite matched it. The record high is 448.62 feet on 2 March 2018. Three parties split the conservation storage: the North Texas Municipal Water District and the City of Irving hold about 37 percent each, with the Sulphur River Municipal Water District holding the rest. Cooper Lake State Park is unusual in having two entirely separate units, Doctors Creek on the north side in Delta County and South Sulphur on the south in Hopkins County, with a ten and a half mile equestrian trail on the south unit.
Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake) — frequently asked
Why does Cooper Lake have two names?
Congress renamed the federal reservoir Lake Jim Chapman in 1996, for the retiring congressman from Sulphur Springs who had been instrumental in funding it. The renaming was unpopular in the town of Cooper, whose mayor said the community was devastated by it, and the state park retained the original Cooper Lake name. So the lake is Jim Chapman and the park beside it is Cooper Lake.
What is Cooper Lake's full pool elevation?
The top of the conservation pool is 440 feet above sea level. The uncontrolled spillway crest, which is also the top of the flood-control pool, is 446.2 feet, and the top of the dam is 464.5. The drainage area feeding it is 479 square miles of the South Sulphur River.
What are Cooper Lake's record high and low levels?
The record high is 448.62 feet on 2 March 2018. The record low is 422.02 feet on 28 December 2006, with the lake around fifteen percent full. That 2004 to 2007 drought, not the better-known 2011 to 2015 one, is the defining dry spell here; 2013 bottomed out several feet above the 2006 mark.
Is Cooper Lake a trophy bass lake?
Not according to state fisheries staff, who report that largemouth bass populations remain low because of habitat limitations. The strong fisheries here are white bass and hybrid striped bass in open water, along with abundant blue catfish. More recent surveys do show largemouth catch rates improving with a large young year class, so the picture is getting better, but the trophy-bass reputation is not one the state data supports.
Why did Cooper Lake take so long to build?
Landowners proposed it in the late 1930s and Congress authorized it in 1955, but engineers determined in 1957 that the dam site had to move six miles downstream, and environmental litigation then stalled the project until an appeals court lifted the construction injunction in 1984. Building finally ran from August 1987 to September 1991, roughly fifty years after the idea started.
What is at Cooper Lake State Park?
It covers 3,026 acres in two entirely separate units on opposite sides of the lake. Doctors Creek sits on the north side in Delta County; South Sulphur sits on the south in Hopkins County and carries cabins, equestrian campsites and the ten and a half mile Buggy Whip Equestrian Trail. Both have boat docks, fishing piers and camping, and there are over 9,000 acres of wildlife management area besides.
Other lakes near Cooper Lake (Jim Chapman Lake)
- Lake Fork ReservoirTX
- Lake ConroeTX
- Lake GeorgetownTX
- Canyon LakeTX
- Grapevine LakeTX
- Lake BuchananTX
See current levels for all 27 Texas lakes and reservoirs →
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