Possum Kingdom Lake Water Level
Possum Kingdom Lake is at 994.45 ft today (Oct 6), 4.55 ft below its 999 ft full pool, up 0.18 ft this week.
Texas · Brazos River
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Water level history
About Possum Kingdom Lake
Possum Kingdom Lake is a reservoir on the Brazos River in Texas, operated by Brazos River Authority. Its full summer pool sits at 999 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the Texas Water Development Board and update daily.
Understanding Possum Kingdom Lake's water level
Possum Kingdom was the first water supply reservoir built in the Brazos River basin. Work on Morris Sheppard Dam began on May 29, 1938, as a Brazos River Authority project with Works Progress Administration help, and deliberate impoundment started in March 1941. The dam is roughly 2,700 feet long and 190 feet high, and when it was finished it was the tallest flat slab buttress dam in the United States. Floodwater passes over nine roof weir gates, each about 74 feet wide and 13 feet high, and opening one still means an operator climbing onto the gate. The lake sits about 18 miles northwest of Mineral Wells and reaches into Palo Pinto, Stephens, Young and Jack counties. Its drainage area is about 23,596 square miles, but TWDB estimates that 9,566 of those square miles probably contribute no runoff at all.
The water arriving from that watershed is naturally salty. A USGS study found the Brazos at Possum Kingdom carries an average of about 2,800 tons of dissolved solids a day, including about 1,000 tons of chloride, and more than 85 percent of that chloride comes down the Salt Fork of the Brazos, much of it from salt springs and seeps along Croton and Salt Croton creeks. Texas Parks and Wildlife documented golden alga fish kills here in early 2001 and again in 2003, 2007 and 2010. The 2001 kill hit the striped bass fishery hard enough that the local chamber of commerce put the loss to the area economy at $16 million to $18 million over four years, and TPWD restocked with 6.2 million striped bass along with Florida largemouth bass, catfish and smallmouth bass over the following two years.
The dam no longer makes electricity. Two 11,250 kilowatt units first generated power on April 17, 1941, but the Brazos River Authority took both offline in 2007 after outside engineering firms identified safety issues, and the plant was fully decommissioned in 2014. Today the level moves with inflow, evaporation and water supply releases rather than power demand. TWDB records starting in 1947 show the lake near its target for long stretches and then dropping hard in drought. It sat around 967 feet from late 1952 into the spring of 1953, refilled that fall, then fell to 974.5 feet in January 1957 before climbing past 1,000 feet that April. The 2011 drought started a slide to 983.75 feet in September 2014. That dry spell also fed the April 2011 Possum Kingdom Complex fire, which burned about 90 percent of Possum Kingdom State Park on the south shore. Hells Gate, the narrow passage between limestone cliffs that once hosted the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, remains the lake's best known landmark.
Possum Kingdom Lake — frequently asked
What is Possum Kingdom Lake's full pool elevation?
The Texas Water Development Board uses a conservation pool elevation of 999 feet above sea level (NGVD29), with the emergency spillway crest at 1,000 feet and the top of the dam at 1,024 feet. Some older documents, including TPWD fishery reports and a 1994 TWDB survey, describe normal pool as 1,000 feet. At 999 feet the lake holds about 538,139 acre-feet of conservation storage based on the 2016 TWDB survey.
What is the record high level at Possum Kingdom Lake?
In the TWDB daily record, which begins in 1947, the highest reading is 1,002.2 feet on October 14, 1981, a little over three feet above conservation pool. The next highest stretch came in the spring of 1957, when the lake reached 1,000.9 feet on April 30, only months after sitting near 974 feet at the tail end of the 1950s drought.
What is the lowest Possum Kingdom Lake has ever been?
The lowest reading in TWDB records is 967.0 feet in February and March 1953, about 32 feet below conservation pool. The lake had hovered around 967 to 968 feet since at least October 1952 and did not recover until later in 1953. The lowest level in more recent decades was 983.75 feet in September 2014, after the drought that began in 2011.
Does Morris Sheppard Dam still generate hydroelectric power?
No. The dam's two 11,250 kilowatt generators first produced power in April 1941. The Brazos River Authority took unit 1 offline in May 2007 and unit 2 in August 2007 after engineering assessments found safety issues, and the hydroelectric plant was fully decommissioned in 2014. Releases from the lake now serve water supply and environmental flows downstream rather than power peaking.
Why do golden alga fish kills happen at Possum Kingdom?
The river feeding the lake is naturally salty: a USGS study traced more than 85 percent of its chloride to the Salt Fork of the Brazos, much of it from salt springs and seeps in Kent, King and Stonewall counties. TPWD recorded kills on the lake in 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2010. The 2001 event hurt the striped bass fishery and was followed by restocking of 6.2 million striped bass over two years.
How did the 2011 wildfires affect Possum Kingdom Lake?
The Possum Kingdom Complex fire started on April 9, 2011, was attributed to lightning, and burned for 34 days across more than 126,000 acres, destroying roughly 160 homes around the lake. It burned about 90 percent of the 1,500 acre state park on the south shore. Another round of fires that August and September destroyed 39 more homes.
How much water does Possum Kingdom supply?
The Brazos River Authority counts about 230,750 acre-feet a year of water supply from Possum Kingdom, which is used for municipal, industrial, irrigation and mining purposes in the Brazos basin. TWDB estimates that about 9,566 of the 23,596 square miles above the dam probably contribute no runoff, so a large share of the drainage map does little to refill the lake in dry years.
Other lakes near Possum Kingdom Lake
- Proctor LakeTX
- Lake O' the PinesTX
- Ray Roberts LakeTX
- Lake LivingstonTX
- Sam Rayburn ReservoirTX
- Lake LewisvilleTX
See current levels for all 27 Texas lakes and reservoirs →
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