About Lake Ralph Hall
What is Lake Ralph Hall?
Lake Ralph Hall will be the newest lake and one of the state’s biggest projects to be built in nearly 30 years. The new lake is located on the North Sulphur River near Ladonia in Fannin County. It will provide a safe, reliable water supply for the communities that Upper Trinity Regional Water District (UTRWD) serves in North Texas.
Construction on the lake began in June of 2021, with water delivery scheduled by 2026. Once complete, it will provide up to 54 million gallons per day — 35 million gallons daily (MGD) of raw and 19 MGD of reuse water.
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UTRWD holds a water rights permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in December 2013. In January 2020, UTRWD received a Section 404 (Clean Water Act) permit from the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers. UTRWD will operate and own the water in Lake Ralph Hall.
Why is Lake Ralph Hall Needed?
UTRWD serves one of the fastest growing regions in North Texas. The area’s population is expected to increase nearly five fold within 50 years, requiring around 140 million gallons of fresh water daily for cities it serves in Denton and Collin Counties.
To avoid a water shortage, UTRWD is actively planning today for the water it will need to support its thriving communities. A comprehensive plan to meet these water demands include ongoing water conservation and reuse programs as well as maximizing the use of existing water sources. UTRWD currently supplies its customers water from these sources: Lake Lewisville and Ray Roberts Lake in Denton County (by contract with cities of Dallas and Denton) and Jim Chapman Lake (by contract with City of Commerce) in northeast Texas.
While conservation and reuse has helped delay the need for new sources of water, it is not enough to meet demands for the next 50 years. An additional source of water is needed by 2025 to meet our anticipated water needs. Lake Ralph Hall will provide our region with this needed water. The lake is the most feasible and lowest cost source of new water available to UTRWD, and it will be built in time to avoid a water shortage.
Over the next 50 years, UTRWD will need additional raw water supplies beyond Lake Ralph Hall and its existing supplies to meet its growing water needs.