History of Federal Dam Construction in Texas

摘要

Statewide, the federal government considered construction of reservoirs at over 140 dam sites. The dam building era commenced in 1942 with the construction of Marshall Ford Dam by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and ended, for the present, with the construction of Cooper Dam/Jim Chapman Reservoir in 1991 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The federal dam building era resulted in the construction of 32 dams across the state in 7 basins at a total cost of 8.2 billion dollars. Flood control benefits alone for these reservoirs are in excess of 76.4 billion dollars which results in a statewide benefit to cost ratio of 9.3 for flood control. 6.4 million ac-ft of conservation storage was developed within the federal reservoirs to support federal conservation purposes and to provide water supply for millions of people across the state, critical national industries as well as agricultural uses. Hydropower is generated at 6 of the federal dams. There are in excess of 22 million annual recreational visitors to federal dams across the state generating significant local and federal revenue each year. Table 1 presents information on statewide federal dam building for Texas.