Lavon Lake Water Level
Texas · East Fork Trinity River
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Water level history
About Lavon Lake
Lavon Lake is a reservoir on the East Fork Trinity River in Texas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 492 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Lavon Lake's water level
Lavon Lake sits on the East Fork of the Trinity River in Collin County, northeast of Dallas, and it is best understood as a municipal water account that happens to have boat ramps on it. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the dam between 1948 and 1954 and enlarged the project in the 1970s, but the conservation water belongs to the North Texas Municipal Water District, which holds it under two separate storage contracts stacked by elevation: an older contract covering the band from 453 to 472 feet, and a larger 1967 contract covering 472 up to the 492-foot conservation pool. Water drawn from Lavon reaches roughly 65 member cities and more than a million and a half people.
Because the district is drawing on it continuously, Lavon spends much of its time below 492 rather than at it, and the lake has no seasonal pool change to explain a low reading. What it does have is a shallow flood pool, only about eleven and a half feet from conservation pool up to 503.5, and twelve tainter gates that the Corps opens only for flood control, never to top up lakes downstream. A quirk worth knowing: the gated spillway crest sits at 475.5 feet, below the conservation pool, which is why the record low of 474.87 feet in November 2006 put the lake underneath its own spillway.
The extremes come fast. The record high of 504.93 feet arrived on 3 May 1990 alongside a record 54,000 cubic feet per second release. In 2007 the lake climbed about 25 feet in six months, and the May 2015 storms pushed it to 503.98, effectively the top of the flood pool. The drought years bit just as hard: from 2011 through 2014 the lake never once reached conservation pool, and 2014's highest reading all year was only 480.74. Sedimentation quietly compounds this, costing roughly 586 acre-feet of storage a year since the lake first filled.
Lavon Lake — frequently asked
Why is Lavon Lake below full pool so often?
Lavon is a working water-supply reservoir. The North Texas Municipal Water District withdraws from it continuously for around 65 member cities, so the lake drifts below its 492-foot conservation pool between rain events. There is no seasonal drawdown schedule at Lavon, so a reading under 492 usually reflects municipal demand and evaporation rather than a planned lowering.
What is Lavon Lake's full pool elevation?
The top of the conservation pool is 492 feet above sea level, and the top of the flood-control pool is 503.5 feet. That leaves only about eleven and a half feet of flood storage, which is why the lake can move into flood operations quickly after heavy rain across the East Fork watershed.
What are Lavon Lake's record high and low levels?
The record high is 504.93 feet, set on 3 May 1990, when the Corps also made a record release of 54,000 cubic feet per second. The record low in the modern record is 474.87 feet on 5 November 2006, which is actually below the 475.5-foot spillway crest. The May 2015 floods came close to the record at 503.98 feet.
Does the Corps release water from Lavon to supply other lakes?
No. The Corps releases from Lavon only for flood control, and specifically not to prop up downstream reservoirs. Gates are opened once the pool is above conservation level and downstream flooding risk has passed, with normal releases capped around 8,000 cubic feet per second as measured at the Crandall gauge.
Which Lavon Lake parks and ramps close when the lake is high?
Little Ridge Park is the one the Corps explicitly closes when Lavon is in flood storage, meaning any time the lake is above 492 feet. The lake has around nineteen four-lane ramps spread across sixteen parks, with marinas at Collin Park and East Fork Park, so high water usually shifts traffic between ramps rather than closing the lake.
What is Lavon Lake known for besides water supply?
Winter and spring crappie fishing is the draw, helped by standing timber up the East Fork arm and rip-rap along the dam. The Lavon Yacht Club, founded in 1982, races out of Collin Park Marina, and the nine-mile Trinity Trail along the shoreline is an equestrian and hiking route. Zebra mussels are present, so clean, drain and dry rules apply.
Other lakes near Lavon Lake
- Lake LewisvilleTX
- Joe Pool LakeTX
- Lake LivingstonTX
- Grapevine LakeTX
- Lake O' the PinesTX
- Lake GeorgetownTX
See current levels for all 27 Texas lakes and reservoirs →
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