The Richland Chambers Dam was built and is managed by the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD). The dam creates the Richland-Chambers Reservoir, which is used to supply drinking water to 11 North Texas Counties served by the TRWD. The dam is named for the two creeks whose waters it impounds, which are tributaries of the Trinity River.
The best place to see Richland-Chambers dam is from the TX FM 488, which runs across the front of the dam and is bridged across the spillway. There is no public access to the dam.
From the TRWD website: (
visit link)
"TRWD Today
Since 1924, the Tarrant Regional Water District has provided quality water to more than 2.1 million people, implemented vital flood control measures and created recreational opportunities for the residents of 11 North Texas Counties. Today, TRWD is led by a publicly elected five-member board and owns/operates four major reservoirs, including Lake Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain Lake, Cedar Creek Lake and Richland-Chambers Lake. TRWD has also constructed more than 150 miles of water pipelines, 27 miles of floodway levees, more than 100 miles of Trinity River Trails and a 2,000 acre wetland water reuse project designed to increase future water supplies for the area."
More specific information on Richland-Chambers Dam can be found here from the Texas water Development Board website: (
visit link)
"Richland-Chambers Dam and Reservoir (Trinity River Basin)
Aerial view of Richland-Chambers Reservoir (Photo provided by Freese and Nichols, Inc.)Richland-Chambers Dam and Reservoir (formerly Richland Reservoir) are located approximately twenty miles southeast of Corsicana, on Chambers Creek and Richland Creek which is a tributary of the Trinity River. The reservoir, extending into Navarro County and Freestone County, is the third largest inland reservoir by surface area and the eighth largest reservoir by water volume to lie entirely within the state of Texas.
Richland-Chambers Reservoir is owned and operated by Tarrant Regional Water District for water supply, flood control, irrigation, and recreation purposes.
After a drought in 1950's, plans were made by the Tarrant Regional Water District to build the Richland-Chambers Reservoir which inundated Lake Corsicana. However, no actions were taken until October 1, 1979 when the water district issued $342.75 million in revenue bonds for construction. Dam construction began in October of 1982. Deliberate impoundment of water began on July 14, 1987. The reservoir was completed in November of 1987 and was filled-up by May 1989. On November 12, 1988 the Richland-Chambers Reservoir started to transport water to Lake Benbrook for water supply to Tarrant County area.
Richland-Chambers Dam is an earthen embankment with a soil cement upstream face and six and half miles long with a maximum height 120 feet. The top of dam is at the elevation of 330 feet above mean sea level. The spillway is located at station 133 of the dam, approximately one mile north of the original Richland Creek, and is a type of concrete ogee weir of 960 feet in length at the crest elevation of 290.0 feet above mean sea level. On the crest it is controlled by 24 tainter gates with the top at an elevation of 325 feet above mean sea level.
According to the 2007 TWDB survey, at the top of the conservation pool, at an elevation of 315 feet above mean sea level, the reservoir stores 1,112,763 acre feet of water and creates 43,384 acres of water surface. The dam controls a drainage area of approximately 1,957 square miles. The reservoir does not has a flood control pool but allowed a surcharge of 2 feet above conservation pool. At this elevation, 317 feet above mean sea level, the reservoir can temporarily hold a total of approximately 1,211,263 acre feet of water encompassing a surface area of 45,500 acres."
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