Reservoir
Project Components
Reservoir
Roads & Bridges
Pipeline
Lake Visitor & Administrative Office
Mitigation & Watershed Protection
Ladonia Fossil Park
The Reservoir – Dam, Spillway and Intake Structure
UTRWD has/is building various different pieces to complete Lake Ralph Hall:
- Leon Hurse Dam, approximately 2.3 miles long
- Spillways (to release excess water back into the North Sulphur River)
- Intake structure, pump station (to move water to the balancing reservoir), and pipelines to move the water to treatment. The pump station will initially be able to pump up to 45 million gallons per day (MGD) and eventually up to 80 MGD.
Construction on the reservoir began in early 2021. So far, crews have placed all 5+ million cubic yards of earth to form the dam’s embankment, and the pump station and pipelines are essentially complete. The Leon Hurse Dam and spillway are nearing completion, and the lake officially began filling in early July of 2026. Limited water delivery is scheduled for late 2026. The lake will open for recreation once it has filled sufficiently (dependent on rainfall) and is safe for public use.
Cross Section Explanation of the Leon Hurse Dam:
1: Water Intake — draws water from the lake into the pump station, where it will be pumped through pipelines to treatment and delivery for Upper Trinity Regional Water District customers and made available for local use.
2: Primary Spillway — releases excess lake water into the North Sulphur River. It includes a zig-zag weir at the top of the dam to control the flow of water as it’s released from the lake.
3: Emergency Spillway — directs large amounts of runoff from particularly heavy rainstorms from the lake to the North Sulphur River.
