White River Lake

White River Reservoir is an artificial lake on the White River sixteen miles southeast of Crosbyton in the southeast corner of Crosby County (its center point is 33°28' N, 101°05' W). It is owned and operated by the White River Municipal Water District. It has a surface area of 2,500 acres, a drainage area that comprises 172 square miles, a normal capacity of 44,897 acre-feet, and a maximum capacity of 80,000 acre-feet. The spillway elevation is 2,384 feet above mean sea level. The earthfill dam is eighty feet high. In 1955 the Texas Board of Water Engineers recommended a lake on the White River to benefit Ralls, Spur, Post, and Crosbyton; local authorities established the White River Water Control and Improvement District and set the project's boundaries as the city limits of the four towns. The acquisition of land took two years of negotiation. Three landowners sold 5,734 acres for the project at a cost of $352,357. Twenty miles of fence surrounded the district's property in 1990. Though the dam was finally completed in November of 1963, an extended dry spell followed, and no water was available from the lake until May 1965. In spring of that year the lake caught 2,000 acre-feet of water, and Post and Spur started using it. Crosbyton was tied on two months later. In August 1966 the lake caught an additional 20,000 acre-feet of water, and Ralls started receiving water the following month.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.