The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began filling Canyon Reservoir — better known as Canyon Lake — on this date in 1964.
Canyon Dam was used to deliberately impound water by holding back the Guadalupe River in Spring Branch.
The lake reached conservation level in 1968, and is used for water conservation, flood control, and recreation.
Construction of the dam, which began in 1958, and the subsequent growth of the area surrounding the lake, are among the most significant developments in Comal County history.
North central Comal County became one of the largest population centers in Central Texas and the focus of a resort and tourist industry that rivaled manufacturing and agriculture in importance to the county’s economy, the Texas State Historical Association wrote in 1994.
The first residential subdivisions — including Canyon Lake Hills and Canyon Lake Village — began attracting permanent and temporary residents.
Before Canyon Lake, the lower Guadalupe River Basin was particularly prone to serious flooding.
The dam protected downstream areas like New Braunfels from major floods in 1978, 1987, 1991 and 1998. However, record flooding in July 22 overtopped the spillway by more than seven feet, causing significant damage below the dam.
The normal maximum operating level of the reservoir is 909 feet above mean sea level (msl) with a conservation storage capacity of 382,000 acre-feet, a shoreline of 80 miles, and a surface area of 8,240 acres
The crest of the spillway is 943 feet above mean sea level.
(Editor’s Note: This article was compiled using information provided by USACE, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA), Wikipedia, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Texas State Historical Association and EdwardsAquifer.net)