Somerville Lake Water Level
Texas · Yegua Creek
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Water level history
About Somerville Lake
Somerville Lake is a reservoir on the Yegua Creek in Texas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 238 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Somerville Lake's water level
Somerville Lake sits on Yegua Creek about twenty miles above its confluence with the Brazos, and its spillway is the thing to understand. It is an uncontrolled ogee weir 1,250 feet wide with its crest at 258 feet, which is also the top of the flood-control pool. There are no spillway gates, so the lake physically cannot be held above 258: past that elevation it simply spills. That has happened three times, and the highest was 29 May 2016 at 259.81 feet, nearly two feet over the crest, when the gauge on Yegua Creek below the dam recorded its highest flow on record.
Getting water back out is slow. The outlet works can pass between 2,500 and 3,450 cubic feet per second, but the channel capacity of Yegua Creek downstream is only 2,500, and releases also have to respect 60,000 cubic feet per second limits on the Brazos at Hempstead and Richmond. So Somerville tends to hold a flood for a long time. In the other direction, the 2011 drought took it to 227.61 feet on 13 December, more than ten feet below the 238-foot conservation pool, and the swing from that low to over the spillway crest took barely four years.
The Brazos River Authority holds all of the conservation storage. One number worth treating carefully is 160,110 acre-feet, which circulates as the lake's capacity but is actually the volume the authority is permitted to impound; the surveyed capacity at conservation pool is closer to 150,000, and the lake is silting at roughly 379 acre-feet a year, about two and a half times Proctor's rate. Lake Somerville State Park comes in two units, Birch Creek on the north shore and Nails Creek on the southwest, roughly a thirty-minute drive apart by road but linked directly by the Lake Somerville Trailway, a 13-mile route open to hikers, cyclists and horses. Bluebonnets carpet the day-use area in March and April, and the spring white bass run into the creeks starts around mid-February.
Somerville Lake — frequently asked
What is Somerville Lake's full pool elevation?
The top of the conservation pool is 238 feet above sea level. The top of the flood-control pool is 258 feet, which is also the crest of the uncontrolled spillway, and the top of the dam is 280. Because there are no spillway gates, the lake cannot be held above 258 feet: beyond that it spills on its own.
What are Somerville Lake's record high and low levels?
The record high is 259.81 feet on 29 May 2016, nearly two feet above the spillway crest and the third time the lake has gone over it. The record low is 227.61 feet on 13 December 2011, more than ten feet below conservation pool. The lake went from that 2011 low to over the spillway in about four and a half years.
Why does Somerville Lake stay high so long after a flood?
Because it cannot let water go quickly. The outlet works can pass up to about 3,450 cubic feet per second, but the channel capacity of Yegua Creek immediately downstream is only 2,500, and releases must also stay within 60,000 cubic feet per second limits on the Brazos at Hempstead and Richmond. The lake therefore holds flood water until the whole system downstream has room.
How much water does Somerville Lake actually hold?
The surveyed capacity at conservation pool is roughly 150,000 acre-feet. The figure of 160,110 acre-feet is widely quoted but is the volume the Brazos River Authority is permitted to impound under its certificate of adjudication, not a measured capacity. The lake is also losing about 379 acre-feet a year to sediment, roughly two and a half times the rate at nearby Proctor.
What is the Lake Somerville Trailway?
A 13-mile trail linking the two units of Lake Somerville State Park, Birch Creek on the north shore and Nails Creek on the southwest, which are about a thirty-minute drive apart by road. It is open to hikers, cyclists and horses, with primitive campsites along it, and the park has close to forty miles of trail in total. Flag Pond at the western end holds a state champion water elm.
When is the best fishing at Somerville Lake?
Spring. State fisheries staff describe the white bass fishery as high quality, especially during the spawning run, and both white bass and hybrid striped bass can be taken in the creeks from around mid-February. Largemouth bass to ten pounds and over are caught here, along with bluegill, crappie and blue, channel and flathead catfish, all under statewide regulations.
Other lakes near Somerville Lake
- Stillhouse Hollow LakeTX
- Sam Rayburn ReservoirTX
- Lake TexomaTX/OK
- Ray Roberts LakeTX
- Toledo Bend ReservoirTX/LA
- Proctor LakeTX
See current levels for all 27 Texas lakes and reservoirs →
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