Addicks Reservoir (San Jacinto River Basin)
Addicks Reservoir and Addicks Dam are located near Addicks in Harris County, on South Mayde and Langham Creeks, tributaries to Bufflo Bayou, which is a tributary of the San Jacinto River. The reservoir is owned by the U. S. Government and operated, in conjunction with the nearby Barker Reservoir, by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent downstream flooding of Buffalo Bayou in the City of Houston. In addition to the Reservoir's flood damage reduction mission, recreation, and nature observation opportunities abound through the approximately 26,000 acres of land that makes up Addicks and Barker reservoirs. Both reservoirs were authorized under the Rivers and Harbors Act of June 20, 1938, which were modified by the Flood Control Acts of August 11, 1938; September 3, 1954; and October 27, 1965.
Construction of the dam started in May, 1946 and was completed in December 1948. Addicks Dam is a rolled earthen embankment of 61,666 feet long with a maximum height of 49 feet above the streambed. A 12-foot-wide gravel road extends along the top of the dam. The top of the dam has a maximum elevation of 119.6 feet above mean sea level. The emergency spillway releases the remainder of Bear Creek just north of Buffalo Bayou with a crest elevation of 108.9 feet above mean sea level. The maximum storage capacity of the reservoir is 204,500 acre feet, encompassing a surface area of 16,780 acres at an elevation of 108.9 feet above mean sea level. Designed flood stage may reach to 107.9 feet above mean sea level, while the record high water level for the reservoir is 109.08 feet, set on August 30, 2017 according to USGS provisional data. Combined with the adjacent Barker Reservoir to the southwest, the total storage capacity is about 410,000 acre-feet.