Canyon Dam Turns 50
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Canyon Dam and Reservoir turns 50 this year.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Canyon Lake Office and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) celebrated the anniversary of the Canyon dam and reservoir in May.
This Golden Anniversary Ceremony featured comments from U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith, a proclamation delivered by a representative from state Sen. Donna Campbell’s office, an honoring of the occasion from State Rep. Doug Miller, and a resolution delivered by Comal County Judge Sherman Krause.
An information station near the spillway tells the story of the great flood of 2002. A second, located near Canyon Dam, explains “how it all came to be.”
Completed in 1964
According to a press release issued by gbra.org, construction of Canyon Dam and Reservoir was completed in 1964. By 1966, with the reservoir declared full, Canyon Dam was officially dedicated by regional and national officials.
In June 1991, the USACE and GBRA held a Silver celebration and re-dedication ceremony for Canyon Dam and Reservoir.
USACE staff estimated that the project’s flood protection prevented nearly $1.2 billion in damages.
34 Inches of Rain
Only one time in the project’s history had waters flowed over the spillway and that was in July 2002 after 34 inches of rain fell in the upper part of the Guadalupe River Watershed.
The Corps mission in Canyon Lake is to provide flood-damage reduction to the Guadalupe River Basin below Canyon Lake, manage the area’s natural land and water resources, and offer some of the “best” water recreation opportunities in Texas.
