Fairfield Lake (Trinity River Basin)
The lake is located about eleven miles northeast of Fairfield in Freestone County, on Big Brown Creek, a tributary of the Trinity River. Water Rights Permit No. 2351A (Application No. 2561A) was issued to Texas Power and Light Company (presently TXU Electric Company) on May 9, 1968 and authorized the construction of a dam to impound 50,600 acre-feet of water for industrial (thermal-electric power generation) purposes. The company also owns the land surrounding Fairfield Lake and operates and maintains Fairfield Dam. Construction for Fairfield Lake and Fairfield Dam started August 19, 1968 and was completed in December 1969, after which deliberate impoundment began.
The design engineer for the project was Forrest and Cotton, Inc. and the general contractor was Spencer Construction Company. Fairfield Dam and appurtenant structures consist of a rolled-earthfill embankment approximately 3,250 feet in length, with a maximum height of 77 feet and a crest elevation of 322.0 feet above mean sea level. The service spillway is located at the left (north) abutment and is a concrete chute with an ogee crest. The crest is 60 feet in net length at elevation 299.0 feet above mean sea level. Two tainter gates, each 14 feet tall and 30 feet wide, control the service spillway. The emergency spillway, located to the right (south) of the dam, is an earth trench cut through the natural ground. The uncontrolled broad-crested weir is 500 feet in length at elevation 314.0 feet above mean sea level.
At the conservation pool elevation of 310.0 feet above mean sea level, the surface area is 2,159 acres and the storage volume is 44,169 acre-feet of water. Records indicate the drainage area is approximately 34 square miles with supplemental pumping from Trinity River.