Studies underway to determine if Colorado County site is suitable for new water supply reservoir
AUSTIN – Just months after bringing Texas’ newest reservoir online, the Lower Colorado River Authority on Feb. 18 announced plans to explore building yet another reservoir to increase water supplies for the fast-growing region. During a meeting of the LCRA Board of Directors, LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson announced that LCRA is quickly moving forward with a feasibility study to determine if the property LCRA owns northwest of Eagle Lake would be suitable for a large new water supply reservoir.
The potential new reservoir could help LCRA meet its goal of adding about 60,000 acre-feet of water supplies by 2040. A new off-channel reservoir is included in LCRA’s Water Supply Resource Report, an overview of strategies to meet the region’s longterm water supply needs, which the LCRA Board approved in November 2025.
Stephen F. Cooper, chair of the LCRA Board of Directors, said increasing the region’s water supplies remains one of LCRA’s top priorities.
“Now that Arbuckle Reservoir in Wharton County is up and running, we’re looking at bringing another major water supply project online,” Cooper said. “That next project may well be another off-channel reservoir about an hour up the road in Colorado County.”
The new reservoir potentially could hold between 48,000 and 80,000 acre-feet of water. That would make it larger than Arbuckle Reservoir and two to three times the capacity of Lake Austin. The almost 2,000-acre Colorado County site is near an existing river intake and pump station.
“It’s too early to know specif- ics, because we first need to do our due diligence,” Wilson said. “We need to know how the site could best be used for off-channel storage and the technical, environmental and permitting constraints. Once we have that information, we’ll estimate the cost, look at funding options and develop a timetable.”
The potential new reservoir would add to existing supplies and help meet increasing water supply needs throughout the lower Colorado River basin. The lower basin typically receives significantly more rain fall annually than the area around the Highland Lakes northwest of Austin.
“Building a new reservoir takes years, so it’s important to start developing new supplies before the demand arrives,” Wilson said. “Meeting future needs requires a combination of adding new supplies and using the supplies we already have thoughtfully.”
LCRA’s newest reservoir, the Arbuckle Reservoir in Wharton County, went online in October 2025 and is LCRA's first water supply reservoir in the lower basin. The reservoir can hold up to 40,000 acre-feet, and when operated in conjunction with the two water supply reservoirs in the Highland Lakes (lakes Buchanan and Travis), can add up to 90,000 acre-feet per year to the region’s water supplies. (One acre-foot equals 325,851 gallons.)
“A new reservoir will help meet our region’s needs well into the future,” said Robert “Bobby” Lewis, a member of the LCRA Board and chair of the Board’s Water Operations Committee. “Arbuckle was the first major reservoir built in the lower Colorado River basin since the Highland Lakes were completed in the early 1950s, and this will be the second. As responsible stewards, we understand needs of the basin are evolving and we are committing to finding solutions to meet those needs.”
