Lake Palo Pinto (Brazos River Basin)
Lake Palo Pinto is located about fifteen miles southwest of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, on Palo Pinto Creek, a tributary of the Brazos River. The lake is owned by the Palo Pinto Municipal Water District No. 1 and operated by the City of Mineral Wells for municipal, industrial, and recreational purposes. Construction of Palo Pinto Creek Dam began on March 21, 1963 and was completed on April 20, 1964. Deliberate impoundment of water began on April 16, 1964. Enlargement to the dam was completed on November 13, 1965. Designed by Freese, Nichols, and Endress and constructed by the Longview Construction Company, the dam is an earthfill embankment of 1,255 feet long, 96 feet high, and 22 feet wide at the top. The top of the dam is at an elevation of 898 feet above mean sea level (NGVD29). The (emergency) spillway is located at the right end of the dam and is a concrete ogee weir with a crest of 550 feet in length at the elevation of 867.3 feet above mean sea level. According to TWDB 2007 survey, the reservoir has a conservation capacity of 27,215 acre-feet and a surface area of 2,176 acres at the conservation pool elevation of 867.3 feet above mean sea level (NAVD88). The dam controls a drainage area of about 471 square miles.