Lavon Lake (Trinity River Basin)
Lavon Lake is located about twenty miles northeast of Dallas, in Collin County, on the East Folk, a tributary of the Trinity River. The lake was built, owned, and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the purposes of flood control, water supply, and recreation. The Lake Lavon Project was authorized by Congress in March of 1945 under Public Law 79-14-1 of the River and Harbor Act for flood control and water conservation. Construction began in January, 1948 and was completed in September, 1953. Deliberate impoundment of water began on September 14, 1953. In 1962, Congressional approval was given to modify the project to increase storage for water supply because of the growing water supply need of the area.
A major modification to the dam, raising the top of water supply and flood control pools, was completed in December, 1975. The 19,493-foot long dam has a maximum height above streambed of 81 feet. The top of the dam is at the elevation of 514.0 feet above mean sea level, while the maximum designed water surface is at 509.0 feet above mean sea level. At the top of flood control pool and top of the gates, at an elevation of 503.5 feet above mean sea level, the lake covers 29,450 acres and stores 748,200 acre feet of water. The dam controls run-off from an area of approximately 770 square miles surrounding headwaters of the East Fork of the Trinity River. According to the TWDB 2011 volumetric survey, the lake has a total storage capacity of 409,360 acre-feet, encompassing a surface area of 20,559 acres at conservation pool elevation, 492.0 feet above mean sea level. The dam controls a drainage area of approximately 770 square miles.