A federal hiring freeze will not impact operations at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) eight Canyon Lake parks.
Monday, the Corps’ New England District issued a statement warning visitors to expect reduced hours, limited access to facilities and significantly reduced services at its 11 flood risk-management reservoirs.
Thomas Byrd, a spokesperson with USACE’s Fort Worth District, said Canyon Lake is not impacted by the freeze but officials will comply with personnel guidance from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Comal County Pct. 4 Commissioner Jen Crownover spearheads the Dam Community Alliance (DCA), which raises funds to restore and enrich access to the lake, the dam, and USACE parks.
She said neither DCA’s nor USACE’s local operations are scaling back.
“With the current construction projects going on at the dam, we’re somewhat closed down as it is, so any other cutbacks aren’t really having an effect as they might if we were full of water and fully open.”
The access road atop Canyon Lake Dam and Overlook Park — two of USACE’s most popular tourist spots and local favorites — closed for repairs Dec. 3, 2024 and will not reopen until Sept. 30.
The Fort Worth District operates and maintains 25 multipurpose reservoirs in six river basins, three hydropower plants, and over 350 recreation areas visited by over 20 million people annually.
USACE leases three of its Canyon Lake parks to Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) and the Water Oriented Recreation District of Comal County (WORD).
“The Commissioners Court, DCA and WORD are all working very well with the Corps and in constant communication,” Crownover said.
Canyon Reservoir provides flood control to the sixth most flood-prone region in the nation and supplies water for municipal, industrial and agricultural uses throughout the Guadalupe River Basin.
Texas Water Company (TWC), Canyon Lake’s water provider, buys water from the lake through the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority.
