Just the FAQs (courtesy LCRA (
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INKS DAM
Location: Llano County, 409 river miles from the Gulf of Mexico
When built: 1936 to 1938
Dam dimensions: 96.5 feet high, 1,547.5 feet long
Primary purpose: Hydroelectric power
Generating capacity: 13.8 megawatts
Spillway elevation: 888.3 feet above msl
Top of dam: 922 feet above msl
Floodgates: None
Discharge capacity: 3,400 cubic feet per second (cfs):
DETAILS ON INKS LAKE
Lake area: 777 acres
Elevation when full: 888 feet above mean sea level (msl)
Volume when full: 13,668 acre-feet
Historic high: 902.8 feet above msl on July 25, 1938
Historic low: 877.1 feet above msl on Dec. 6, 1983
Target operating range: 886.9 feet to 887.7 feet above msl
100-year flood level at dam: 901.7 feet above msl
Dimensions: 4.2 miles long, 3,000 feet at widest point
Texas Water Development Board adds:
Inks Lake (also known as Roy Inks Dam) is located about ten miles west of Burnet in Burnet and Llano counties, on the Colorado River. The Lake is owned and operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority for hydropower generation and recreational purposes, together with other Highland Lakes as a system. The lake and dam are named after Roy B. Inks, one of the original directors on the Lower Colorado River Authority Board. Construction on the Dam, begun in 1936 and was completed in 1938. The dam is a concrete gravity structure of 1,547.5 feet long with a maximum height of 96.5 feet. According to the TWDB 2007 survey, the lake has a capacity of 14,074 acre-feet encompassing a surface area of 788 acres at normal pool elevation of 888.22 feet above mean sea level. The drainage area is 31,290 square miles, of which 11,900 square miles is probably noncontributing. This lake is considered a constant-level one because the normal turbine discharge is coordinated with the inflow from Lake Buchanan so that normal fluctuation is small. However, during periods of floods the lake level varies considerably. (http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/surfacewater/rivers/reservoirs/inks/index.asp)
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The Colorado River had a history of major flooding, especially in the City of Austin – even washing out two versions of the ‘Town Lake’ dam. To “tame” this reprobate waterway, six dams were constructed in the Texas Hill Country – Lake Buchanan down to Austin’s Town Lake – coordinating into an integrated system of water management and hydroelectric power.
In 1931 the first stage of that effort was begun: construction of the then dubbed “Hamilton Dam.” Samuel Insull’s highly leveraged public utility holding company collapsed during the Great Depression, leaving that first dam less than half completed. In 1934, the Texas legislature authorized formation of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to complete the Hamilton dam. Dedicated in October 1937, the dam was renamed for U.S. Representative James P. Buchanan, a strong advocate of the overall plan and key in securing funding through the Public Works Administration. Indeed Buchanan & Inks projects provided employment to over 1,500 through the Civilian Conservation Corps (source (
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Rep Buchanan was succeeded by Lyndon Johnson, who realized the potential LCRA and its dams offered the region. He persuaded LCRA to use the dams’ hydroelectric power to benefit Central Texas communities and rural areas (the sale of which helped finance completion of the Lakes system and other LCRA projects). LCRA manpower strung the lines that brought electricity to customers of the region's first two electric cooperatives: Pedernales and what is today Bluebonnet.
By 1939 LCRA had acquired a service area surrounding Austin from private utilities and began a campaign to convince communities to purchase their local distribution systems and buy power from LCRA. Almost all communities did — and saw retail electric bills drop almost by half from what private utilities had charged. LCRA also sponsored "electric fairs" with local merchants to introduce residents to the benefits of electric appliances.
Before Buchanan Dam was completed, LCRA began work three miles downstream on the smaller Inks Lake dam so the two could work in tandem.
The lake and dam are named for Roy B. Inks, one of the original directors on the LCRA Board. Construction. Begun in 1936, concluded in 1938, its power plant is the smallest in the Highland Lakes chain. Inks Lake is designated as a constant-level reservoir because the normal turbine discharge is coordinated with the inflow from Lake Buchanan, so NORMAL fluctuation is small. The dam, interestingly, has no floodgates. A small amount of water can be released through hydroelectric generation, but the bulk of floodwaters, when they occur, pass over an uncontrolled spillway.
The waymark’s coordinates center on the dam. Good upstream viewing can be had from the Inks Lake State Park Boat Ramp (a nominal fee is charged for Park Use) at N 30°44.027 W098°22.536. Excellent post-9/11 views can be had off Park Road 4, which continues south of the park, as well as from the geocache GC21BC “Central Texas Dam Series #6” at N 30° 43.841 W 098° 22.565. Parking for the cache can be found about 500 feet away, if you can find the nearly hidden trail head at N 30° 43.785' W 098° 22.582' – but don’t forget to pay your park fee!
A fast neck craner Park Road View may be had from N30 43.665 W098 22.948 (where I took the photo).
For another downstream view of the dam face, approach from the WEST side of the Colorado off HWY 29 and meander (it may not be worth your while) to N 30°43.810 W 98°23.246, just outside the Shady Oaks RV Park 350 Inks Dam Rd Buchanan Dam, TX 78609.
It’s also worth taking a satellite-eye look with Google Earth.
For more background, see:
Photos – LCRA archives – thttp://www.flickr.com/photos/lcra_corporate_archives/sets/72157620237302692/detail/
Texas Parks & Wildlife Inks Lake (
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Inks Dam and Inks Lake; Small dam creates 777-acre lake, has no floodgates (
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Inks Lake State Park (
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Inks Lake - The Official Visitor's Guide From Burnet County (
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Texas State Historical Association The Handbook of Texas Online:
Inks Lake (
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Lower Colorado River Authority (
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LCRA's Historic Moment: History of the Highland Lakes (
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The history of LCRA Early years and first critical test (
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LCRA as discussed by Wikipedia (
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LCRA dams form the Highland Lakes
Structures designed for flood management, water supply, hydroelectricity (
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