Bois d’Arc Lake was decades in the making and Spring rains in our area allowed us to open for public recreation in April 2024. We’ve also now gotten to see the labyrinth weir and service spillway in action. Here are some quick facts about this important piece of infrastructure at Bois d’Arc Lake.
- Bois d'Arc Lake was designed and built primarily as a water supply reservoir with recreational opportunities.
- The Dam's service spillway has a 60-foot-wide, 3-cycle labyrinth weir with the set conservation pool elevation of 534 mean sea level (MSL).
- Bois d’Arc Lake is not permitted and constructed for use as flood control reservoir and therefore does not deliberately store or release flood waters like many other lakes across Texas.
- Once the lake reaches full capacity (534’ MSL) any inflows or floodwaters that enter the lake spill over through the lake’s service spillway and flow downstream.
- Once Bois d’Arc Lake reached its full conservation pool last week, the water flowed over the spillway for the first time.
- Unlike other area lakes like Lavon and Ray Hubbard, Lewisville, Bois d’Arc Lake is in the Red River Basin, meaning any overflow travels generally north into Honey Grove and Bois d'Arc Creeks, eventually reaching the Red River.
- For safety reasons, the dam and spillway are not accessible to the public. Boaters and anglers are advised to follow the posted signage and not enter areas marked by floating buoys.
Watch the spillway at work: