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Water School

How deep is my lake?

Periodically, officials conduct surveys of reservoirs within the Brazos River basin to determine each lake’s volume. As part of that work, survey crews determine each lake’s depth (in feet). Do not confuse this measurement with lake level, however.

A reservoir’s depth is the distance from the bottom to the top of the conservation pool, the point where the lake is considered full. The lake level is the number of feet the surface is above mean sea level.

Surveys use a combination of GPS technology and sonar to find the lake’s depth at various points to get an average to determine volume. The sonar sends sound waves to the lake bottom at different frequencies, and the results are compared to help also determine how much sediment has collected. The surveys also find each lake’s deepest point, which is typically near the dam.

The following lakes are in the Authority system:

Reservoir

Avg. depth (feet)

Deepest point (feet)

Belton

35

112

Stillhouse Hollow        

35

110

Possum Kingdom      

32

106

Whitney

24

100

Georgetown

29

80

Granbury

16

67

Limestone

17

44

Aquilla

15

40

Somerville

13

35

Granger

12

35

Proctor

12

33

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The information provided on this site is intended as background on water within the Brazos River basin. There should be no expectation that this information is all encompassing, complete or in any way examines every aspect of this very complex natural resource.

If you have questions about a post or would like additional information, please contact us or call 888-922-6272.

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