Proctor Lake Water Level
Texas · Leon River
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Water level history
About Proctor Lake
Proctor Lake is a reservoir on the Leon River in Texas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 1162 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Proctor Lake's water level
Proctor Lake has a structural arrangement worth understanding: the spillway crest and the top of the conservation pool are the same elevation, 1,162 feet. The entire flood pool above it, all 35 feet of it up to 1,197, is held back by eleven tainter gates, each forty feet wide and thirty-five feet high. That is a lot of gate for a conservation pool of only about 55,000 acre-feet, and it reflects the size of the watershed behind it: 1,259 square miles of the upper Leon River, roughly a third of the whole Leon basin.
Proctor's flood control is also credited into a lake sixty miles downstream. Because Proctor regulates the upper Leon, Congress authorized raising Belton Lake's conservation pool from 569 to 594 feet, which happened on 1 May 1972 and lifted Belton's dependable yield from about 75 to 105 million gallons a day. Proctor's own dependable yield is modest by comparison at around fourteen million gallons a day. The Brazos River Authority holds one hundred percent of the conservation storage and releases are made on its written daily request, judged downstream at Hasse, Gatesville and Cameron.
The clearest thing about this lake for anyone watching its level is the drought trigger. In August 2023, after twenty-two months of decline from a full lake in September 2021, the Brazos River Authority declared Stage 4 pro rata curtailment at Proctor, cutting its customers by thirty percent, when the lake fell below 1,150.1 feet. Stage 1 begins at 1,158.2 feet, and the Stage 1 declaration was not lifted until September 2024. Those customers are largely agricultural: alongside a municipal district there are three irrigation entities drawing on the lake, including the Lake Proctor Irrigation Authority of Comanche County, a district the Texas legislature created in 1989. Irrigation is not a federal purpose here, but it is very much what the water gets used for. The record low of 1,148.08 feet came in October 2023; the record high of 1,197.62 feet came on 2 May 1990 with 176,400 cubic feet per second pouring in.
Proctor Lake — frequently asked
What is Proctor Lake's full pool elevation?
The top of the conservation pool is 1,162 feet above sea level, which is also the spillway crest. The top of the flood-control pool is 1,197 feet and the top of the dam is 1,206. Unusually, the entire 35-foot flood pool is held by eleven tainter gates rather than sitting below an open weir.
At what level does Proctor Lake trigger water restrictions?
The Brazos River Authority sets drought stages on lake elevation here. Stage 1 Drought Watch begins at 1,158.2 feet. Stage 4 pro rata curtailment, a thirty percent cut to customers, was declared in August 2023 when the lake fell below 1,150.1 feet after twenty-two months of decline. The Stage 1 declaration was not lifted until September 2024.
What are Proctor Lake's record high and low levels?
The record high is 1,197.62 feet on 2 May 1990, just above the top of the flood-control pool, with a peak inflow of 176,400 cubic feet per second. The record low is 1,148.08 feet on 23 October 2023, about fourteen feet below conservation pool. The modern daily record also shows a near-record high of 1,197.38 feet in June 2016.
Is Proctor Lake used for irrigation?
In practice yes, although irrigation is not one of the federal project purposes. The Brazos River Authority holds all the conservation storage and its Proctor customers include three irrigation entities, among them the Lake Proctor Irrigation Authority of Comanche County, a district created by the Texas legislature in 1989. When the authority declares curtailment at Proctor, those irrigators are the ones cut.
How is Proctor Lake connected to Belton Lake?
Through yield rather than water. Because Proctor regulates flooding on the upper Leon River, Congress authorized raising Belton Lake's conservation pool, which happened on 1 May 1972, lifting it from 569 to 594 feet and increasing Belton's dependable yield from about 75 to 105 million gallons a day. Proctor's flood-control benefit is effectively banked in Belton's water supply.
Where do you camp and launch at Proctor Lake?
The Corps runs Sowell Creek and Copperas Creek for camping and day use, Promontory North and South, and High Point, which has hiking and equestrian trails. Lighted multi-lane ramps are at Promontory Point, Sowell Creek and Copperas Creek, with a single-lane ramp at the dam. The lake has 38 miles of shoreline at conservation pool.
Other lakes near Proctor Lake
- Ray Roberts LakeTX
- Possum Kingdom LakeTX
- Sam Rayburn ReservoirTX
- Lake O' the PinesTX
- Somerville LakeTX
- Lake LivingstonTX
See current levels for all 27 Texas lakes and reservoirs →
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