Bryan Utilities Lake (Brazos River Basin)

Bryan Utilities Lake (also known as Lake Bryan) is a man-made reservoir located about five miles west of Bryan in Brazos County, on unnamed tributaries of Thompson Creek and unnamed tributary of the Little Brazos River, which in turn is a tributary of the Brazos River.  The reservoir is owned by the City of Bryan and operated by Bryan Texas Utilities as a cooling pond for the electrical generators in the Dansby Power Plant.  The dam is made up of a compacted earth embankment with a length of about 18,570 feet. The top of the dam is at an elevation of 362.5 feet above mean sea level. The uncontrolled service spillway is located in the east embankment section and is a square drop inlet concrete structure with its crest at an elevation of 355.5 feet above mean sea level. The reservoir was officially impounded in 1974.  According to TWDB 2016 survey, the reservoir can store 14,163 acre feet of water with a surface area of about 818 acres at the conservation pool elevation of 355.5 feet above mean sea level.  The dam controls only 1.975 square miles of drainage area.  However, the owner can withdraw groundwater to maintain a sufficient water level in the reservoir for the cooling operation.