Water has always been a challenge for the State of Texas. With only one naturally occurring lake in the state, early Texans were forced to dig wells or move water from nearby rivers to meet their needs. The state was also challenged by bouts of devastating flooding, which resulted in hundreds of deaths, followed by extended periods of drought, making reliable crop production difficult.
But federal help began to arrive with the passing of the Flood Control Act of 1936. Washington directed the US Army Corps of Engineers to build a series of flood-control reservoirs throughout the state, including 9 within the Brazos River Basin.
Two of these reservoirs were to be located on the Navasota River, but plans for both were later abandoned due to local opposition from those living near the lower Navasota and a lack of funding.
Then Texas began to grow. The state's population boomed in the early 1970s, growing twice as fast as the national average, as companies, their employees, and new jobs relocated to the state from the north and east.
As the global energy crisis intensified and lines began to form at gas stations throughout the country, Texas found itself not only facing a lack of water supply but also an increasing need for electricity.
The Brazos River Authority had just completed its second water supply reservoir, Lake Granbury, funded entirely by the contract agreements with state-based electric companies in need of water supply to cool newly built plants, when Texas Utilities Generating Company, a subsidiary of Texas Utilities, announced plans to build two lignite power-generating plants in the upper Navasota watershed. Each would require water.
By October 1973, the Brazos River Authority Board of Directors had voted to approve the construction of a reservoir near the Limestone-Robertson County line, with the project receiving overwhelming public support from the City of Groesbeck, the largest town in the area near the proposed dam site.
The state water commission issued a permit for the new reservoir in 1974 with a construction budget of $15.7 million.
Construction of the reservoir was completed entirely without the use of tax dollars. The dam gates were closed on October 16, 1978, and though engineers predicted the lake would take one to two years to fill, the reservoir reached its full mark a mere seven months later, on May 12, 1979.
As part of the Brazos River Authority's 50th Anniversary, Lake Limestone and the Sterling C. Robertson Dam were dedicated with formal ceremonies held on October 19, 1979. A crowd of several hundred learned about the life of the dam's namesake from Dr. Malcolm D. McLean, a professor of History and Spanish at the University of Texas at Arlington and the great, great-grandson of Sterling C. Robertson.
Lake Limestone was formed by the construction of the Sterling C. Robertson Dam, an earthen and concrete structure that spans 8,395 feet in length and stands 70 feet tall. The dam contains a service spillway housing five Tainter-style gates, each measuring 40' high by 70' long for water releases, along with a 3,000-foot emergency spillway. The depth of the lake at the dam is about 43 feet.
When full, Lake Limestone reaches an elevation of 363 feet above mean sea level and covers a surface area of about 12,486 acres. The reservoir holds 203,780 acre-feet or 66.4 billion gallons of water. The BRA is permitted by the state to utilize 65,074 acre-feet of water per year from the reservoir.
Though Lake Limestone is a water supply reservoir, it is also a haven for recreationists. The lake boasts four public parks, two owned and operated by the Brazos River Authority and two managed by Limestone County, each providing picnic areas, boat ramps, and camping available free of charge.
Lake Limestone offers some of the best fishing in Central Texas. Its flooded timber and abundance of aquatic vegetation offer cover for largemouth and white bass as well as crappie and catfish.