"Of all the endeavors on which I have worked in public life, I am proudest of the accomplishment in developing the Colorado River. It is not the damming of the streams or the harnessing of the floods in which I take pride, but rather in the ending of the waste of the region. The region - so unproductive in my youth - is now a vital part of the national economy and potential." -- Lyndon Johnson, 1958
With a long history of extreme floods and droughts, the Colorado River’s volatile temperament was ‘begging’ for some engineering therapy. The six integrated dams and lakes of the ambitious Highland Lakes Chain were the answer, also launching the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). In addition to water management, the Highland Lakes were instrumental in ‘electrifying’ Central Texas and the Hill Country, as, at the bidding of then Representative Lyndon Johnson, the LCRA proselytized electricity distribution and consumption through a late ‘30s-40s 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.
Inexpensive Power, water management, and recreation proved a boon to local economies and the State at large; and specific and overall engineering of the system earned the Highland Chain of Lakes Historic Civil Engineering Landmark of Texas status in 2000.
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After a series of catastrophic floods on the Colorado River through Austin (enough to take out the city’s “Town Lake” dam – TWICE), the tempestuous river needed to be brought under control. In 1931 the first stage of that process was begun: construction of the then dubbed “Hamilton Dam” by a company controlled by Samuel Insull. Unfortunately, the Great Depression put an end to Insull’s company, with the dam less than half completed. In 1934, the Texas legislature authorized the formation of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to complete the Hamilton Dam. Following its completion in 1937, the dam was renamed for U.S. Representative James P. Buchanan, a strong advocate of the overall lakes project and key in getting funding through the Public Works Administration.
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.
A massive flood in 1938 forced LCRA to open 22 of Buchanan Dam's 37 floodgates – a record for that dam – devastating areas downstream. Critics charged LCRA and Buchanan Dam had made the flood worse; LCRA countered that since Buchanan Dam was just the first in the series of four planned flood control dams, flood prevention would not be possible until all were finished. A subsequent Texas Senate investigation not only exonerated LCRA but also determined that the already under construction Marshall Ford (Mansfield) Dam should be increased an additional 80 feet to its current height of 278 feet to provide more protection to Austin and downstream communities.
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 the rates private utilities had charged. LCRA also sponsored "electric fairs" with local merchants to introduce residents to the benefits of electric appliances.
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With Buchanan and Inks already under construction, in 1936 the LCRA Board chose what is known as the Hughes site at Marshall Ford – twenty miles upstream from Austin – as the site for what was to be the Colorado’s main flood-control dam. Due to its similar size and scope, the design and bidding process for the “Marshall Ford Dam” was greatly accelerated by utilizing documents from the Grand Coulee Dam, which was then under construction on the Columbia River. Although the proposed Lake Travis would certainly be massive (65 miles long!), land acquisition was no barrier, for the steep cedar-filled canyons were primarily remote ranch lands.
The construction contract was awarded to Brown & Root – a risky prospect for the relatively young company, especially since funding was only secured for the first half of the project. At the ground-breaking ceremony on February 19, 1937, Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes announced that the Marshall Ford Dam would be built in two phases, the first 190 feet in height and the second, 266 feet, which would double the cost from $10 million to $20 million.
The aforementioned catastrophic flood of ’38 and subsequent investigation of LCRA led LBJ to inform a general meeting at the House of Representatives Chamber of the State Capitol that the federal government “said it was advisable, if we were to control such floods as we had in 1935 – and last week – to raise that Marshall Ford Dam from 109 feet to 265 feet.” This would effectively increase the flood storage capacity of Lake Travis by 800,000 acre-feet. The additional funding for the higher dam was secured by Texan Sam Rayburn (majority leader of the House) from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Public Works Administration.
The generators at Marshall Ford went into operation on January 27, 1941, and construction was completed in May 1942.
The LCRA Board voted on February 21, 1941, to change the dam’s name to Mansfield Dam, after U.S. Representative J.J. Mansfield, then eighty years old.
Lake Travis has the largest storage capacity of the Highland Lake reservoirs. Its winding course stretches 65 miles (105 km) upriver from the Austin metro in western Travis County to the Max Starcke Dam in southern Burnet County, just southwest of the town of Marble Falls. In addition, the Pedernales River, a major tributary of the Colorado River, flows into the lake from the southwest in western Travis County.
Mansfield Dam and Lake Travis are the only structures in the Highland Lakes Chain *specifically* designed to contain floodwaters in the lower Colorado River basin. The lake can store as much as 256 billion gallons of floodwaters, helping to prevent destruction downstream in all but “Biblical” flood conditions. When the elevation of the lake exceeds 681 feet above mean sea level (msl), LCRA begins floodgate releases under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The amount and duration of the releases vary according to the weather and flood conditions above and below the dam.
Mansfield Dam & Lake Travis also provide water for the Austin metropolitan area and irrigation water for farmers downstream, generates electricity, and provides water recreation for a number of Central Texans.
A two-lane highway, RM 620, crossed at the top of the dam, but traffic congestion from Austin’s growth and the increasing popularity of the Lake for recreation prompted the state to build a four-lane highway bridge on the downstream side of the dam. Only service vehicles use the dam-top road now.
The posted coordinates center on Mansfield Dam itself. The best view of the downstream face is actually a drive-by: across the RM 620 bridge just downstream of the Lake. This is not great for photography, however.
There is a viewing area, reachable from both directions of traffic, at the south/east side of the bridge, exits roughly at N 30 23.370 W 097 54.346. You can bushwhack down to stream level from there, or go to parking at the old low water crossing (N 30 23.390 W 97 54.635) and follow trails up the river. The Low Water Crossing Road continues up the West/North side of the Colorado River for more sights of the dam.
Lakeside views of the dam are best from Mansfield Dam Park N 30.23.795 W 097 54.449 (there is a fee for park use). At the EXTREME drought time of this writing, the “Sometimes Islands” are actually the “Occasional Peninsula” – you can actually WALK out into the “center” of the lake. This affords some fascinating historical views of the terrain “pre-lake,” as well as odds and ends of construction and nearly three quarters of a century of flotsam and jetsam.
Perhaps the most famous panorama is from the cliff-hugging decks of The Oasis (N 30 24.335 W 97 52.449). Or pretty much anywhere along or around or ON the Lake (boats!) is fair game: just so you describe where the shot was taken and write a decent log!
Thumbnail data points:
In total, the Highland Lakes Chain is comprised of (in up- to downstream order):
Buchanan Dam/Lake –finished in 1937/38 …built in tandem with
Inks Dam/Lake –finished in ‘38
Wirtz Dam (nee Granite Shoals) — Lake LBJ; 1949 to 1951 …built in tandem with
Starcke Dam – Lake Marble Falls (1949/51)
Mansfield Dam — Lake Travis; finished 1941
Tom Miller Dam – Lake Austin; 1938 to 1940
Just some FAQs (courtesy LCRA (
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FYI: MANSFIELD DAM
Construction: concrete gravity with earthen (rock) wings.
Location: Travis County, 318 river miles from the Gulf of Mexico
When built: 1937 to 1942
Dam dimensions: 278 feet high, 7,089.39 feet long
Primary purposes: Flood management, water storage, hydroelectric power
Generating capacity: 108 megawatts
Water supply storage capacity: 369.8 billion gallons
Spillway elevation: 714 feet above msl
Top of dam: 750 feet above msl Floodgates: 24
Total discharge capacity: More than 133,400 cubic feet per second (cfs):
+ 24 floodgates @ more than 5,250 cfs each
+ 2 turbines @ 2,500 cfs each
+ 1 turbine @ 2,400 cfs
Original name: Marshall Ford Dam
DETAILS ON LAKE TRAVIS
Lake area: 19,297 acres
Elevation when full: 681 feet above mean sea level (msl)
Volume when full: 1,134,956 acre-feet
Historic high: 710.44 feet above msl on Dec. 25, 1991
Historic low: 614.18 feet above msl on Aug. 14, 1951
Target operating range: at or below 681 feet above msl
100-year flood level at dam: 722 feet above msl
“MYTH VS. REALITY - LCRA dams form the Highland Lakes” (
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Myth:
The Highland Lakes dams will protect downstream homes and businesses from flooding.
Reality:
Mansfield Dam, which forms Lake Travis, is the only dam that was built to hold back floodwaters. The other dams help manage the flow of floodwaters as they travel through the chain of lakes. A severe flood can exceed even Lake Travis' flood storage capacity and cause flooding downstream.
For more background, see:
Photos – LCRA Archives “Mansfield Dam” (
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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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Mansfield Dam Wikipedia (
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Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce history (
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Texas State Historical Association The Handbook of Texas Online:
Lower Colorado River Authority (
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‘Handbook of Texas Online: Lake Travis (
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Lake Travis (
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LakeTravis.com Lake History (
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