Canyon Lake is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

on the Guadalupe River in the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Canyon Lake is a

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

reservoir formed on the Guadalupe River in

Comal County Comal County ( ) is a County (United States), county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and Eu ...

by Canyon Dam, which is located about sixteen miles northwest of

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north of San Antonio, and part ...

. The dam, lake, and all adjacent property are managed by the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers. Water rights, waste water treatment, and hydroelectric generating facilities are managed by the

Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority or GBRA was formed in 1933 by the Texas legislature. Its main concerns are water supply and water Conservation ethic, conservation in the Guadalupe River (Texas), Guadalupe River Basin, which includes the Blanc ...

. Construction of the dam began in 1958 and was completed in 1964. The reservoir serves to provide flood control and water supply for the communities downstream from the dam. The lake is also a popular recreational destination.

Geography

Canyon Lake is located at . Please note, this GPS coordinate does not correspond to a public access location (please see the section below on Public Access in the Recreation section). It is located in northern

Comal County, Texas Comal County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and European history. Its county seat is New Braunfels ...

, on the northeastern fringe of the San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA. It is about 35 mi (56 km) northeast of

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

and 40 mi (64 km) southwest of

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

. Towns in the immediate vicinity of the lake include Canyon City, Cranes Mill, Hancock, Fischer, Sattler, and Startzville, all part of the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

known as

Canyon Lake, Texas Canyon Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Comal County, Texas, United States. The population was 31,124 at the 2020 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Canyon Lake CDP includes a number of small, u ...

. Larger towns nearby include

and San Marcos.

History

Construction of Canyon Dam began in 1958 to provide both flood control and

water conservation Water conservation aims to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, protect the hydrosphere, and meet current and future human demand. Water conservation makes it possible to avoid water scarcity. It covers all the policies, strateg ...

. Impoundment of the lake began in 1964, and the lake was filled to its conservation level in 1968.

Flood protection

Flood protection is provided for nearly of land downstream from Canyon Dam. The canyons of the upper Guadalupe River have a capacity to carry ; however, the channel on the lower Guadalupe River, downstream from the

Balcones Escarpment The Balcones Fault or Balcones Fault Zone is an area of largely normal faulting Edwards Aquifer in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north-central region near Dallas along Inte ...

, can carry only . This has led to serious flooding in the lower Guadalupe River Basin, including a major flood in New Braunfels in 1972 which was caused by heavy rains just downstream from Canyon Dam. Canyon Dam protected downstream areas from major floods in 1978, 1987, 1991, 1992 and 1998. A record flood in July 2002 overtopped the

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

by more than and caused significant damage below Canyon Dam. In the 2002 flood, the peak flow was about . The amount of water that flowed over the spillway was about 3½ times the amount of water that the reservoir holds. Erosion over the course of three days washed away bedrock below the spillway to reveal what is now the Canyon Lake Gorge. Water continued to flow over the spillway for six weeks.

Water conservation

The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) has rights to the water in the conservation pool of the lake. This water is used to operate several small

hydroelectric plants Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

downstream from New Braunfels and for municipal water supply, irrigation, and industrial uses. GBRA built a hydroelectric facility at Canyon Dam in August 1987; it was put into service in February 1989.

Recreation

Canyon Lake is a center for recreation in the area. The Corps of Engineers built and maintains eight park areas around the lake for camping, swimming, boating and picnicking. Bank fishing is available in all park areas, and a fishing dock can be found in Cranes Mill Park on the south side of the lake. Comal County provides several public boat ramps for access to the lake. Hike, bike and equestrian trails are available, as is limited hunting (archery only) and professional fishing guide services. There are several public parks on the shores of Canyon Lake that allow access to the lake for swimming, fishing and boating. There are 2 marinas located on the lake. The marinas have boats and jet skis available for rent. There are several public boat ramps on the lake as well as private boat ramps. Public access boat ramps are available free of charge. The private boat ramps at the marinas or in some of the parks are available to the public for a fee. There is no fishing or swimming allowed at any of the boat ramps.

Lake level concerns

Plans by GBRA to sell water from Canyon Lake to supply the fast-growing

and

regions have raised concerns that the lake will fall well below the established conservation pool level, potentially causing problems ranging from

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

and weakening of Canyon Dam to a decline in property values and possible health issues from the exposure of long-submerged land. This has led to several administrative actions and lawsuits over the future of Canyon Lake. On September 1, 2023, Canyon Lake dropped to its lowest pool level on record.

References

External links

*http://mycanyonlake.com Online Community Bulletin Board and News
Canyon Lake
page at U.S. Corps of Engineers website *
Guadalupe-Blanco River AuthorityTexas Parks and Wildlife: Canyon Lake

''Friends of Canyon Lake'' websiteCanyon Lake Gorge Preservation SocietyLake Canyon Yacht Club
*

{{authority control Protected areas of Comal County, Texas

Comal Comal may refer to: * COMAL, a computer programming language * Comal (cookware), a type of griddle Places * Comal River (Indonesia) * Comal County, Texas, U.S. * Comal River, Texas, U.S. * Comal Springs (Texas), U.S. See also

* {{disa ...

New Braunfels, Texas Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Bodies of water of Comal County, Texas